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Upset with Akhilesh Yadav, Azam Khan may walk out of Samajwady Party

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The Samajwadi Party (SP) may soon face another major jolt as speculations about senior party leader Mohd Azam Khan leaving the party and, possibly, forming his own party, gained ground.

Azam Khan’s media in charge Fasahat Khan Shanu said, “Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was right when he said that Akhilesh does not want Azam Khan to be out of jail.”

Fasahat made the remark at a meeting of Khan’s supporters at the party office in Rampur, late on Sunday night.

According to sources, Azam Khan has been upset over the fact that Akhilesh did not visit him in Sitapur jail-except once– where he is lodged since February 2020.

Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L) chief Shivpal Yadav’s rift with Akhilesh and his possible shift to the ruling BJP has strengthened reports about Azam Khan also quitting SP.

Azam Khan fought the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and won the Rampur seat for the 10th time from behind the bars in Sitapur jail.

Fasahat said, “On the indication of Azam Khan, the Muslims not only in Rampur, but also in several districts voted for the SP. But the SP national president did not take the side of Muslims. Azam Khan is in jail for more than two years, but the SP president only once went to meet him in jail. Not just this, Muslims are not being given importance in the party.”

Fasahat added, “Now Akhilesh Yadav feels that our clothes stink.”

Interestingly, day ago, SP MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq had also alleged that SP was not working for Muslims.

Samajwadi Party state spokesperson and national secretary Rajendra Chaudhary said: “I am not aware of any such meeting or comments. Azam Khan is with the SP and the SP is with him.”

Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatima is an ex-MLA and former Rajya Sabha member while his son Abdullah Azam Khan won the Suar assembly seat in Rampur.

Azam Khan has been winning the Rampur seat since 1980. He lost only in 1996 to the Congress. Tazeen Fatima won the Rampur seat when he vacated it after winning the Rampur Lok Sabha seat in 2019.

On March 22, Azam Khan resigned as Rampur Lok Sabha member to retain his assembly seat. This was done on the same day on which Akhilesh quit as the SP’s Azamgarh Lok Sabha member to retain his Karhal assembly seat.

Earlier, Azam Khan had been out of SP for almost a year after the party had expelled him in May 2009 for six years.

The expulsion was revoked in December 2010 and he re-joined the party. During the period of his expulsion, he did not ally with or join any other party.

Meanwhile, an MLA known for his proximity to Azam Khan admitted that Khan was being increasingly side lined after Akhilesh took over the reins of power in the party in 2017 and even Mulayam Singh Yadav had been relegated to the wings.

“Azam Khan may quit SP though he may not join any political party for some time-at least, till the Lok Sabha elections. He has every reason to feel betrayed by the party leadership,” the MLA said.

Entertainment

‘Yeh Kaisa Insaan Hai’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Slams ‘Pushpa 2’ Star Allu Arjun For Stampede During Screening 

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Hyderabad: Despite police permission being denied, top Telugu actor Allu Arjun attended the theatre where ‘Pushpa-2’ was screened on December 4, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy charged on Saturday.

Even after the death of a woman in a stampede, the actor did not leave the cinema hall, prompting the police to force him out, CM alleged.

Responding to the issue after AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi raised it in the Assembly, Reddy, referring to videos in circulation, found fault with Allu Arjun for holding a roadshow and waving to the crowds in spite of the heavy crowd.

Reddy further said the theatre management gave a letter to the police on December 2 seeking security for the visit of top actors and others on December 4. However, the police rejected the application, citing difficulties in crowd management.

Before entering the theatre and exiting, the actor stood through the sunroof of his car and waved to the crowds leading to thousands of fans jostling to get a glimpse of him, he said.

He slammed film personalities for making a beeline for Allu Arjun’s residence to meet him after his arrest but not showing empathy to visit the boy who is undergoing treatment in hospital after suffering injuries in the incident.

“I appeal to the top film personalities that they should not be inhuman,” he said.

He also said there won’t be any special privileges when untoward incidents like death in a stampede happen and said the government would not spare those who troubled common people.

A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was hospitalised on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when thousands of fans jostled to have a glimpse of the actor at the premiere of the blockbuster ‘Pushpa 2,’.

Following the incident, the city police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint lodged by the deceased woman’s family.

Allu Arjun was arrested by the city police in connection with the death of the woman on December 13. The Telangana High Court granted him a four-week interim bail on the same day and he was released from the prison here on December 14 morning.

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National News

Conscience itself will deliver justice: Shivakumar on obscene remark row

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Bengaluru, Dec 21: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said on Saturday that conscience itself will deliver justice in the derogatory remark case against BJP MLC C. T. Ravi.

The Deputy Chief Minister’s remark came close on the heels of the release of Ravi, who was arrested over alleged derogatory remark against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.

On Ravi’s allegations that police harassed him throughout the night, Shivakumar told reporters: “In this matter, you and the police are involved. Whether it’s at his house or his party, I am the cause of everything.”

“Let the BJP accept that disrespecting women and using abusive language is their culture. We will not object,” said Shivakumar.

“C.T. Ravi has not only spoken disrespectfully about Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar but also about CM Siddaramaiah. In the Assembly, he used the term ‘Nitya Sumangali’ (a Kannada term used to demean a woman). BJP leaders must introspect whether Ravi’s remark was right or wrong,” he claimed.

“Chikkamagaluru (native place of Ravi) is known for its cultured people. Unfortunately, someone like him hails from there,” he added.

“If any leader from our party had spoken like this, I would have condemned it. However, BJP leaders are standing in defence of their leader,” he claimed.

State Home Minister G. Parameshwara said, “The matter is before the court. I won’t issue any statements as the matter is sub-judice. It is not appropriate to discuss the issue.”

“The police claim that they have initiated steps lawfully. The matter is before the court and they will decide what is right and what is wrong. I have been told that while obtaining information on various circumstances, the judgment has come without asking the version of police. Now, we can’t comment or criticise the decision,” Parameshwara stated.

When asked about the Legislative Council Chairperson Basavaraj Horatti stating that there are no records of Ravi making derogatory remark, Minister Parameshwara said that he does not know anything.

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BRS MLAs will resign if Congress proves 24-hour power claim: KTR

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Hyderabad, Dec 21: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K. T. Rama Rao on Saturday told the Telangana State Assembly that all BRS MLAs will resign if the Congress government proves that it is supplying 24-hour electricity to farmers or that it has waived loans of all farmers.

He alleged that the Congress government is making false claims that it is giving round-the-clock uninterrupted power.

Throwing the challenge during the debate on Rythu Bharosa, the BRS leader told Minister for Roads and Buildings Komatireddy Venkat Reddy that he was ready to come with him to Nalgonda district. “If you can show us even in one log book that 24-hour power is being supplied, all we MLAs will resign,” he said.

Similarly, KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly called, also offered to accompany the minister to any village in Kodangal or Sircilla constituency to check on farm loan waivers. “If you can show that loans of 100 per cent farmers were waived even one village, I will resign as MLA and take retirement from politics,” he said.

The BRS leader slammed the Congress government for not properly implementing the Rythu Bandhu scheme launched by the previous BRS government.

KTR said Congress promised enhanced investment support to farmers under Rythu Bharosa but failed to provide the assistance even under the existing scheme.

He claimed that the BRS started Rythu Bandhu to increase the area under cultivation. Citing the statement made by the government, he said the area under cultivation in the state increased from 1.41 crore acres in 2019-20 to 2.04 crore acres in 2020-21.

KTR mentioned that when the BRS came to power in 2014, Telangana had the second-highest number of farmer suicides in the country. He claimed that due to the measures taken by the BRS during the last 10 years, the farmer suicides came down from 11.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

The BRS leader alleged that the government was planning to impose cuts under the Rythu Bharosa scheme.

He demanded that the Assembly session be extended by 10 days for a comprehensive debate on electricity, irrigation, and Mission Bhagiratha.

The debate saw a sharp exchange of words and challenges and counter-challenges between BRS and Congress MLAs.

Minister Venkat Reddy threw a challenge at the BRS, saying if it could prove that every household was supplied drinking water under Mission Bhagiratha during its rule, he would not seek votes in the next elections.

He alleged that there was Rs 50,000 crore corruption under Mission Bhagiratha. To this, BRS MLA and former minister Harish Rao mentioned that the total cost of the scheme was only Rs 28,000 crore.

Earlier, Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao said the government has not yet formulated the guidelines. He said the guidelines will be framed after taking suggestions from the legislators.

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