Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll: SP leader Azam Khan plays victim card, U.P. deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya hits back - Hindustan Times
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Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll: SP leader Azam Khan plays victim card, U.P. deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya hits back

By, Lucknow
Nov 28, 2022 10:30 PM IST

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya accused Azam Khan of creating an atmosphere of fear in Rampur when the SP was in power.

A week before the Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll, the war of words intensified in the constituency where voting will take place on December 5.

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan at a campaign rally for the Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll. (PTI PHOTO)
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan at a campaign rally for the Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll. (PTI PHOTO)

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan on Monday projected himself as a victim of the BJP government’s alleged plan to “suppress the leaders of the opposition parties”.

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In response, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya accused Khan of creating an atmosphere of fear in Rampur when the SP was in power.

Addressing a public meeting in support of party candidate Asim Raza, Azam Khan said, “The BJP government put me in jail, got me disqualified from the membership of legislative assembly, now they may force me to leave the country. The BJP is using administrative machinery to defeat the SP candidate.”

The former minister called upon the people not to cheat him as they have done in the Rampur Lok Sabha bypoll (which the BJP won in June).

It was time to settle scores with the BJP that was targeting his family members as well as SP leaders, he said.

“I have worked for the development of Rampur,” he said.

Countering the SP leader, Maurya said the land of the poor people and farmers were grabbed by Khan but the BJP government has ended his terror.

“Now, Azam Khan is shedding crocodile tears to get the people’s sympathy,” he said.

During the SP regime, he was counted among the ministers who masterminded riots for the political gains, Maurya alleged.

Addressing a public meeting in support of BJP candidate Akash Saxena on Monday, Keshav Prasad Maurya also said, “Azam Khan has been using Rampur as his fiefdom. The people will teach him a lesson by ensuring the defeat of the SP candidate in the same manner as they did during the Rampur Lok Sabha by-election.”

“During the 2022 assembly election, the SP created an atmosphere as if it was coming to power in UP But people voted for the BJP,” he said.

He said while Azam Khan was accusing the administration of working in a partisan manner, the authorities were functioning in a fair manner.

The Muslim community is also supporting the BJP and lotus is set to bloom in the Rampur assembly constituency, Maurya said.

Meanwhile, Azad Samaj Party (ASP) led by Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar announced its support to the SP candidate on the Rampur seat.

In a press statement, Chandrashekhar announced that the ASP will campaign for the SP nominee. Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary will also address a public meeting in support of the SP candidate in Rampur.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Rajesh Kumar Singh is Assistant Editor, Hindustan Times at the political bureau in Lucknow. Along with covering politics, he covers government departments. He also travels to write human interest and investigative stories.

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