UP bypolls: Samajwadi Party leaders meet chief electoral officer, demand removal of Rampur DM, SP

LUCKNOW: Ahead of assembly by-elections on October 21, a Samajwadi Party (SP) delegation on Sunday met state chief electoral officer (CEO) Ajay Kumar Shukla and demanded the removal of district magistrate and superintendent of police of Rampur for free and fair polls in the assembly segment. The leaders said the two officers “have created a reign of terror in the district by implicating their leader in false cases and as such transparent election will not be possible under their supervision”.
The party leaders claimed that Rampur DM Aunjaneya Kumar Singh and SP Ajay Pal Sharma have lodged 86 false FIRs against senior leader Mohd Azam Khan and his family members after Lok Sabha elections to harass them.
“The number of fake FIRs against Azam and his family has reached 86. We are unable to understand why a person who has immensely contributed to the field of education is being harassed,” said Rajendra Chowdhry, national secretary, SP.
The delegation comprising leader of opposition in legislative assembly Ram Govind Chaudhary and leader of opposition in legislative council Ahmad Hasan and Chowdhry also handed over a memorandum to the CEO. They also submitted a detailed account of FIRs and police action against MP Azam Khan.
The by-elections in Rampur is necessitated after Azam Khan was elected to the Lok Sabha from the parliamentary seat. Khan had held the seat for nine terms and had defeated Jaya Prada to win the poll.