SP may rein in Azam Khan

Party sources said its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is under intense pressure to act against Khan,who is not only openly working against Jaya Prada,the party candidate from Rampur,but also damaging the minority vote base of the party. The leadership,they indicated,may decide on action against Khan either on May 13 or May 16,after the poll process is over.

Yadav will be in Rampur on Saturday to campaign for Jaya Prada. Defending Amar Singh,the SP chief said on Friday that the issue will be resolved after the elections.

“He (Khan) has been continuously speaking against Amar Singh and also Kalyan Singh. His tirade against both is unfair,” Mulayam was reported to have told a television channel. “Being the general secretary of the party,whatever complaints he (Khan) had could have been discussed by holding a working committee meeting. The way he has been airing his grievances to the media is not good. I consider it bad,” added Mulayam.

Party spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhary said: “Senior leaders of the party are expected to behave with dignity and should refrain from working against the party’s interest.”

On Friday,Khan had launched a scathing attack on Amar Singh. Referring to Singh’s allegation that the “youths of Rampur were being encouraged to hurl shoes” at him,Khan retorted: “Abhi Rampur mein itna ghatiya joota nahin bana hai”. He added: “ I cannot stoop so low to settle political scores,only the likes of Amar Singh can think of such things”.

He however,went on to add: “If a shoe is the destiny of Amar Singh,I cannot help it. I have no divine powers to change the destiny of a person”.

In Rampur,Khan’s supporters allegedly attacked the cavalcade of another general secretary,Abu Asim Azmi,considered a confidante of Amar Singh. Azmi,who is in the fray from Mumbai (North) Lok Sabha seat,is currently in Rampur,campaigning for Jaya Prada.

On Friday,he had gone to meet a prominent Muslim cleric of Rampur,Maulana Khalid Rashid in Halke Wali Ziyarat,when a mob arrived,raising slogans against him and Jaya Prada They assaulted Azmi’s supporters and targeted the cars. Three SUVs were damaged and two persons were roughed up.

Azmi has accused Khan of engineering the attack. He said the miscreants were hired goons sent by Khan,to kill him,but he managed to escape. An FIR had been lodged against 150 unidentified people in the Ganj police station.

Khan,however,denied the charges. “I have a clean record while Azmi belongs to a listed gang of criminals headed by don Abu Salem,” he said. “You know the profile of Azmi. He behaved as per his antecedents,which was resisted by the local people.”

The SP had brought in Azmi to Rampur as a damage-control measure,since Khan has launched an open rebellion against Jaya Prada. Khan has hoisted the banner of revolt over the ties of party chief Mulayam Singh’s “friendship” with Kalyan Singh. (With PTI)