LUCKNOW:
Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav will lead a five-kilometre bicycle rally in Rampur on March 12 to protest against what he called BJP government's vendetta politics against party veteran and MP
Azam Khan and his family. Prior to the cycle rally, the former UP CM will address a public meeting at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University which was founded by Azam Khan.
“Our party chief will address a public meeting at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University campus and thereafter lead a bicycle rally to Ambedkar Park in Rampur.
The Rampur district administration has been informed about the plan for necessary action,” said a senior SP leader privy to Yadav's schedule in Rampur on March 12.
“The ruling BJP has been targeting SP MP Azam Khan, his MLA wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam for years now. It is an open secret that hundreds of FIRs lodged against such a senior leader and former minister, his MLA wife and son are all politically motivated. Azam Khan was jailed during the emergency by the then Congress government at the Centre. Today he has been declared a history-sheeter by the BJP government in UP. Such vindictive action from the government has caused extreme agony to the entire family,” said the SP chief, adding that it was time for the government to realise that there was unrest among masses over the dictatorial manner in which one family is being targeted.
A day after the bicycle rally by Akhilesh, SP workers will continue with the
cycle Yatra which will end at Lucknow on March 21. On March 13 party’s state president Naresh uttam Patel will flag off the rally from Ambedkar Park in Rampur for Bareilly. On March 14, leader of the opposition and SP veteran Ram Govind Chaudhary will flag off the rally from Bareilly to reach Katra by the next day. Thereafter on March 16, the rally will reach Shahjahanpur and the next day it will reach Lakhimpur, SP national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told TOI.
The rally will pass throgh (Achauliya) Lakhimpur to reach Sitapur from where it will be flagged off by leader of the opposition in the legislative council, Ahmad Hasan, on March 19 for Lucknow. The rally will reach Bakshi ka Talab and on March 20 and end at the SP headquarters in Lucknow where party president will address the SP workers.