Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav will visit Uttar Pradesh's Rampur on October 8 to meet party leader Azam Khan. The development comes two days after the SP's founding member was released from jail after nearly two years. "We have finalised the visit, and I will be going to meet him," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Quoting sources, PTI said Yadav will take a private plane from Chowdhury Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow for Bareilly, from where he will travel to Rampur by car. SP MP from Rampur, Mohibulla Nadvi will likely accompany Yadav during his visit.
Khan to join BSP?
Yadav's visit to Rampur comes at a time when speculations are rife that Khan may join former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). This came after Uma Shankar Singh, BSP's lone MLA from the Rasra constituency in Ballia, said the party would welcome Khan if he decides to join the BSP.
However, Khan later clarified that he would remain in the SP. "We have something called character. Character does not mean whether we hold a post or not; it means people love and respect us. And we are not for sale, we have proved that," he said on Wednesday, when questioned by reporters about the speculations.
The 77-year-old also said he has no 'resentment' with anyone in the party, but asserted that he has not spoken with Yadav after coming out of jail. "Believe me, I remembered only my wife's number all these years, and now even that number I have forgotten. I have not used a phone in five years; I have forgotten how to operate one," he noted.
Khan released from jail
Meanwhile, Khan was released from the Sitapur jail on Tuesday after nearly two years. This came days after he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in the Quality Bar land grab case. "I have faith that I will come out clean. I am confident that I will get justice from the high court and, if not, from the Supreme Court. Perhaps that stage will not come," Khan said after coming out of jail.
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