Mulayam Singh Yadav needs my loyalty, won`t abandon me: Azam Khan

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Azam Khan has expressed confidence that he won`t be abandoned by his party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav since he has been very loyal to him.

Zee Media Bureau

Lucknow: With pressure rising on the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh to sack Cabinet Minister Azam Khan for his role in Muzaffarnagar riots, the latter has expressed confidence that he won`t be abandoned by his party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav since he has been very loyal to him. Reports on Friday quoted Azam khan as saying, "I know Mulayam can never leave me. He needs my loyalty... he cannot leave me". The reactions from the samajwadi party Muslim leader came a day after four Uttar Pradesh police officers levelled serious allegations against him in court over last month`s communal riots in Muzaffarnagar. On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court issued a notice to Khan after four officers in charge of police stations in villages that were mangled by the violence told the court that they were unfairly suspended from the police force on his orders. They also claimed that they were punished because the police had arrested seven Muslims for allegedly killing two Jat brothers in the village of Kawal on August 27. They said in court that under pressure from the minister, their bosses ordered the release of the suspects immediately. Azam Khan, however, categorically denied that he pressured police officials to ignore the violence in which nearly 50 people were killed. The minister said that he will clarify his stand in court.