Samajwadi Party veteran Azam Khan met party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Friday, describing the meeting as a symbolic gesture of resilience and a call for justice and political change in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Khan said, “The real intent of our meeting was to show that despite the oppression and historic injustice we faced, there still exist people whose endurance is stronger than stone or mountain.”
Accompanied by his son and former MLA Abdullah Azam, Khan noted that many of their supporters were still imprisoned. “When we meet, we remind each other of those painful times so that future generations remember that such injustice once took place,” he said.
Azam Khan recalls ‘injustice’ and misuse of agencies
Recently released after nearly two years in jail on multiple charges, including land grabbing and intimidation, Khan expressed gratitude to the media for what he termed a “change of perception.”
“Those who once misunderstood me now seem to realise that great injustice was done to us,” he remarked. He also recounted the Income Tax raids at his residence and Rampur’s Jauhar University, saying officials “used words that could make any decent person bow his head in shame.”
Khan urged for an end to the misuse of investigative agencies and said, “Until the political system improves and people understand what is truly happening, injustice will continue. But I sense change. Those who once opposed me now come to meet me, embrace me, and weep. That is a sign of transformation.”
Rejecting rumours that the Lucknow visit was linked to legal matters, Khan clarified, “There is no other reason. I came to meet Akhilesh Yadav and to send a message through you that we stand for change.”
A renewed bond within the Samajwadi Party
This meeting marks the second significant interaction between the two leaders in a month. On October 8, Akhilesh Yadav had visited Rampur, calling Khan a “strong pillar” of the Samajwadi Party and assuring that a future SP government would withdraw all false cases against him.
Azam Khan, a founding member of the Samajwadi Party and one of its senior-most leaders, has been a close aide of the late Mulayam Singh Yadav. Despite past speculation about a rift, Khan has consistently rejected any possibility of leaving the party.