Uttar Pradesh election 2022: Akhilesh Yadav himself doesn`t want Azam Khan to come out of jail, claims Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow: Amid polling for the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022 on Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday took a jibe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, saying he himself doesn't want Azam Khan to come out of jail.

The Chief Minister said that the SP chief fears if Azam Khan comes out of jail, it will pose a threat to his position. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Adityanath said, "Even Akhilesh doesn`t want Azam Khan to come out of prison because his (Akhilesh Yadav`s) position will be in danger."

In the recent hearing, the Supreme Court refused to grant any relief to Azam Khan, who had sought interim bail to campaign in upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Azam Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020 last year over several cases registered against him. Slamming Yadav for trying to manipulate the narrative, the Chief Minister said that the SP chief should understand that these cases pertain to courts and not state governments.

"The state government has nothing to do with them. It is the work of courts to grant bail and not that of state governments. The state government only answers what has been asked by the court. It is wrong to link it with state government; it is like tampering and manipulating facts," he said. 

On allegations of Opposition regarding ‘Thoko Raj’, Adityanath said that every person who is a danger to the security of the state should fear the law.

Drawing a comparison between previous state governments and the BJP-led state government, the Chief Minister said, "This is the difference between the governments before 2017 and the BJP; earlier, the state would witness riots every 3-4 days, curfews would continue for months. Anarchy was at its peak. There was hooliganism."

"Today, in the past five years, there has been no riot, no curfew in the state. Businessmen and women aren`t killed. Today, Kanwar Yatra takes place with all pomp and show; it isn`t only a mark of respect to the religion, but also gives a sense of security to the people," he added.

The seven phased Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh commenced on February 10. The second phase of polling for the state assembly is scheduled for February 14.

Altogether 55 assembly constituencies will go to the polls in the second phase covering nine districts of Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha, Sambhal, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Budaun and Shahjahanpur.