Samajwadi Party to Initiate ‘Cycle Yatra’ Against BJP’s ‘Oppression’ of Azam Khan

The Samajwadi Party will take out a ‘cycle yatra’ to highlight the “continued oppression” of senior party leader Azam Khan by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, a party spokesperson said on Saturday. The yatra will begin from Rampur, the home district of Azam Khan, on March 13 and conclude on March 21 in Lucknow, party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said in a statement issued here.

“The purpose of this yatra is to register public anger over the actions of the BJP government against the founder of Mohammad Ali Johar University and SP MP Mohammad Azam Khan and draw people’s attention over it,” Chaudhary said. Yadav will reach Rampur on March 12 and address a press conference at the Mohammad Ali Johar University and will also speak at a public meeting there, Chaudhary said, adding that on March 13, state unit president Naresh Uttam Patel will flag off the ‘cycle yatra’ from Ambedkar Park, Rampur.

Passing through Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur and Sitapur, the ‘cycle yatra’ will reach the party headquarters in Lucknow where the party president will address workers, Chaudhary said, adding that senior leaders will flag off the yatra at different places all through the route.

“Mohammad Azam Khan is an MP and former minister, his wife Tanzin Fatima is an MLA yet they have been framed in cases. Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam has also been made an accused and ever since the BJP came to power, this family is facing continued problems. They are being framed in fake cases, Chaudhary alleged.

The SP has been supporting Khan since the beginning, he said. The Lok Sabha MP has set up the Johar university and taken steps towards spreading higher education and improving the lives of the youth but he is being humiliated and harassed by the government, the spokesman alleged.