Azam Khan is the tallest and most prominent Muslim political leader of Uttar Pradesh. He is the co-founder of Samajwadi Party along with the visionary leaderMulayam Singh Yadav. Azam Khan was continuously elected 10 times from Rampur constituency to UP Assembly. Once he was nominated to Rajya Sabha also. In Uttar Pradesh, he served as a cabinet Minister several times and once held the post of Deputy Chief Minister. He successfully organised the KumbhMela also. Truly he is a sincere servant of people and honest leader of masses.
The present dispensation in UP under Yogi Adityanath is hell bent upon denigrating and mentally torturing Azam Khan. He was not spared even during Covid-19 epidemic. All sorts of false cases were launched against him.
Countless false charges were brazenly levelled against him. It is not less than a miracle that when he was serving a jail term of 27 months in Sitapur Jail, he contracted Covid-19 and survived. It is Almighty God who saved his life otherwise his enemies had left no stone unturned to throw him in the jaws of death.
After that, again he was sent to jail under other false charges for 23 months. He came out of jail and spent less than two months as a free man, when on 17th November he along with his son Abdullah Azam was once again sentenced to seven years imprisonment by an MP-MLA Special Court. There are totally more than 80 cases against him. For undergoing all expected sentences he may need hundreds of years.
One has to agree with the eminent legal expert and renowned Supreme Court AdvocateKapilSibal that a plethora of false cases against Azam Khan serve the purpose of reminding the 5 crorestrong Muslims of UP to surrender to the machinations of the ruling BJP and never think of getting even their basic rights as citizens of India.
BJP wants to strengthen its grip on the most populous state of India. It wants to cut to size the Muslim citizens who form one-fifth of the state electorate, through all sorts of dirty tricks and intimidatory tactics. Your Editor-in-Chief visited his family and interviewed his wife, brother and two sisters. They are a worried lot, yet they have full faith that finally he will get justice and would be able to serve his party and the people of the state.
The fabricated and false cases have been filed in such a manner that I doubt he would never get justice.Worst is feared if the ruling partyopposing him continues to remain in the saddle.
Some family members of Azam Khan met him in jail on 25th November. In spite of clear instructions from the court that he should be givenA class, he has been lodged in a hall with 28 broken windows and not even a cot and bed has been provided to him.
One wonders to think whetherour judiciary is alive or dead. Rule of law and justice is under great stress. Democratic forces in India must unite and fight with the enemies of justice and democracy. Meanwhile, let all good-hearted Indians pray for Azam Khan and start a struggle to put an end to the unjust and vindictive conspiracies against the great leader of the masses. Insha Allah, finally he will emerge as an ideal leader, sincere servant of common people and a fighter for rule of law, freedom and democracy. Our message to Azam Khan is,“DO NOT FEAR, ALLAH IS WITH YOU”.