Azam Khan — out of sight but still focus of U.P. campaign
The Hindu
Key to the BJP’s polarising pitch, the MP has the SP’s backing as a victim of the Yogi regime
Despite being in jail, senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, is the focus of campaigning for the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh election.While he continues to be at the centre of the BJP’s communal campaign as in the past, the SP has spoken out in defence of the Rampur Lok Sabha MP.
On Friday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav addressing a meeting with Mr. Khan’s son Abdullah Azam in Rampur, referred to the 87 cases against Mr. Khan by the Yogi Adityanath government, and said “fake cases don’t have long life.” Mr. Yadav juxtaposed the treatment meted out to Mr. Khan by the government with the bail granted to Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, in the LakhimpurKheri incident in which he is accused of killing four farmers.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.