Internal bickering within the opposition Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh has emerged over jailed party leader Mohammad Azam Khan.
The matter came to the fore after Khan’s wife Tanzin Fatima went to meet her husband in the Sitapur jail last week and later accused SP leadership of ignoring her husband and doing nothing for his release from jail.
However, SP President Akhilesh Yadav was quick to respond and said that only “Allah” or court or if the party comes to power in 2027 can help Azam Khan.
After this, former SP MP from Moradabad, S T Hassan commented that the party is doing everything for Azam Khan but questioning Akhilesh Yadav by his wife is not acceptable. The party has helped Azam Khan in all ways, he added.
He also termed the word “Ahsanframosh (ungrateful)” for Azam Khan and his family which irked the sitting SP MP from Moradabad, Ruchivira.
On the statement of the former MP, Ruchivira has questioned the use of words like ‘Ehsan Faramosh’. However, Dr. ST Hasan said that his statement is being misunderstood.
The political tussle between Dr ST Hasan and Ruchivira commenced during the lost Lok Sabha polls when Akhilesh Yadav gave ticket to Ruchivira after rejecting the claim of Dr Hasan from Moradabad seat.
Both the leaders spare nothing to attack each other and now the Azam Khan issue has blown out of proportion.
It had been reported that Ruchivira was selected for the Moradabad seat due to the support of Azam Khan while Dr Hasan was not in a good term with the Rampur leader.
Meanwhile, the growing proximity of the Azam Khan family with Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) national president Chandrashekhar Azad was another reason for the SP leadership to ignore him.
In the political corridors, it has been seen as a Dalit-Muslim alliance after Chandrashekhar Azad met Azam Khan in the Sitapur jail a few days ago.
However, coming in full support of Azam Khan, Moradabad MP Ruchivira told reporters on Sunday that Azam Khan is the founding member of the party and built the university in Rampur.
She said that there is no estrangement between Mulayam Singh and Azam Khan’s families. There is no need to raise fingers about the relationship between the two families.