New Delhi: Azam Khan, leader of the Samajwadi Party, has claimed that the Uttar Pradesh Police “wreaked havoc” on the eve of the Lok Sabha by-elections in the Azamgarh and Rampur parliamentary constituencies on Thursday.
According to Khan, the UP police also acted “indecently” with the SP Lok Sabha candidate in Rampur on the eve of the Lok Sabha bypolls.
“I have been up all night. Our Lok Sabha candidate went to Ganj police station, Kotwali police station, and Civil Lines police station (in Rampur). The most indecent behaviour was by the inspector at Ganj police station. He was violent. The blame is on the administration if polling percentage drops,” Khan was quoted by ANI in its report.
“If polling percentage drops, the blame is also on the government. They wreaked havoc overnight. Jeeps and sirens were everywhere in the city (Rampur); they took people to the police station and beat them up. I’ve also heard of some money transfers as well. It’s shameful,” he added.
“I’m a criminal, I accept…so my city has also been presumed to be the same. They can do whatever they want, we have to endure. If I want to stay, I have to endure”, he said.
In Uttar Pradesh, voting for byelections to the Lok Sabha seats of Azamgarh and Rampur is underway.
The Azamgarh bypoll was called as a result of the resignation of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly as an MLA earlier this year.
Similarly, after being elected to the state legislature, Azam Khan abandoned his Rampur Lok Sabha seat.
Akhilesh Yadav was elected to the Karhal assembly seat, while Azam Khan was elected to the Rampur Sadar constituency.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party ran in coalition with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
In the Rampur byelection, the BJP has filed Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, who just joined the party, while the SP has chosen Asim Raja, who Khan handpicked. The BSP, led by Mayawati, is not competing.
The BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirhua,’ a well-known Bhojpuri actor-singer, the SP’s Dharmendra Yadav, and the BSP’s Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali are contesting the Azamgarh seat.
(With ANI Inputs)