Azam`s detention in US: Akhilesh cancels Harvard lecture

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party on Friday sought an apology from the US for the "insult" caused by the questioning of Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan at the Logan International Airport in Boston. "We demand an apology from the US on the issue as Indians cannot be insulted like this after being invited," senior SP leader Naresh Agarwal told reporters here. Khan, a senior leader of the ruling SP in UP and also the Urban Development Minister of the state, was detained for about 10 minutes at the Boston airport for "further questioning" after he landed in a scheduled British Airways flight from India. In protest, Khan, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has cancelled his scheduled lecture in Harvard University on the recently held Mahakumbh Mela at Allahabad. Azam Khan has also decided to come back after a short stay. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said India has asked its Embassy in Washington to take up the matter appropriately with the US authorities. "We have received reports from our Consulate General in New York on this incident. We have asked our embassy in Washington to take up the matter appropriately with the US authorities," Akbaruddin told reporters in Kazakhstan capital Almaty. PTI