Guv Ram Naik acting at behest of BJP, poses threat to my life: Azam Khan

Lucknow: Mohammad Azam Khan, senior minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government, has created sensation with his statement that he and his family members are feeling “threat to their lives” from the Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. Khan is considered to be the strongest Muslim leader in the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh government, and has been among the most vocal leaders in the ruling establishment. His latest allegation came in Rampur on Saturday when he alleged that he was receiving “threat calls and derogatory mails” after his recent comments on Governor Ram Naik. He said specifically that he was getting phone calls from unknown people who were “threatening to teach me a lesson quoting the statements of state governor”. He then went on to say that not only him but “Muslims across the country are living in persistent fear as they feel anything can happen to them under the present situation”. [caption id=“attachment_2084369” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Samajwadi Party MLA Azam Khan. PTI[/caption] He reiterated his earlier allegation that the Governor was “acting like a political activist working at the behest of Bharatiya Janata Party and trying to build an environment against Muslims in the country”. Also on his target were various social media platforms which, he said, had become “the mouthpiece of such elements. My critics are using such derogatory terms against me through slanderous posts which are not permitted in civilized society. The development is an outcome of statements made by the governor”. Khan said he had informed the police about these threat calls, and added that he planned to meet President Pranab Mukherjee very soon with “relevant proof” seeking his intervention in the matter. A day earlier in Lucknow, Khan had said he had written a letter to the Governor, alleging that the latter’s “continued negative views” about him and Muslims in general had created a sense of fear among Muslims. Khan said in the four-page letter that “the continued negative views expressed by you against me have led to a lot of fear among the weak, minority community, especially Muslims, as they believe that I myself and Muslim society might be harmed because of it”. At the root of the letter is believed to be the Governor’s displeasure over the allotment of a building and property in Rampur that houses Jauhar Research Institute to a trust promoted and run by Khan, at an annual rent of Rs 100 for 33 years. Khan had been defending the move, saying the property belonging to erstwhile rulers of Rampur estate was old and unused and would be used for running a school for poor children. Khan also referred to a meeting he had with the Governor in Lucknow on 27 January regarding the Raza Library in Rampur, at which the Governor had “made sweeping statements” against him. Khan in his letter also referred to the Governor’s statements regarding a Ram temple in Ayodhya and said although he was duty-bound to “respect the Governor” but the latter’s views were “politically motivated and hurt the sentiments of minorities”. Naik, on the other hand said in Allahabad on Saturday that Khan’s letter was “inappropriate”. He said he would respond to Khan’s allegations through Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. “Since I hold a constitutional position it would not be proper for me to respond to his allegations in public. My response would come at the right time and through the proper channel.” Khan has been in the news since much before he joined the Akhilesh cabinet in March 2012. While he was among the 47 ministers who were sworn in on 15 March 2012, he was administered the oath again on 18 March, since in the first instance he had failed to take the pledge of secrecy and office as per Constitutional procedures. The list of controversies he had been involved in since then is long. He kept abstaining from cabinet meetings whenever he felt annoyed over any decision or any political development involving the Samajwadi Party. He made no effort to hide his displeasure when former SP leader Amar Singh attended a function in Lucknow reportedly on the invitation of SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav. During the Lok Sabha election campaign, his vitriolic statement had forced the Election Commission to stop him from campaigning in the state. His comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign and till recently have been caustic, bordering on personal. He has been involved in a long-standing verbal duel with noted Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, and also on the issue of administration of the Shia Waqf Board. Khan had also demanded that a temple be set up to worship Mulayam Singh Yadav. This statement had come the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi had publicly criticised the inauguration of a temple in his honour in Gujarat. Khan had been involved in repeated stand-offs with earlier Governors TV Rajeshwar and BL Joshi, both of whom had withheld approval to a move to declare the Jauhar University a minority institution. Interestingly, Aziz Qureshi, the then Governor of Uttaranchal, was given additional charge of Uttar Pradesh for about a month in June last year, and within days, he cleared the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University (Amendment) Bill, which had been pending for seven years. The state leaders of the BJP have been demanding that the chief minister “reign in” Khan. State BJP spokesman Chandra Mohan said writing an open letter to the Governor was “totally inappropriate” and dishonor to the Constitutional post of Governor. Senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who is an active social worker along with his wife Nutan Thakur, joined the Rampur controversy, saying that he had he had written a letter to Khan requesting him to give Jauhar Research Institute building to a social welfare organaisation which would pay Rs 1 lakh as annual lease rent. “I have written to Khan asking that the government owned Maulana Ali Jauhar Shodh Sansthan, Rampur be handed over to People’s Forum Trust, which will offer annual rent of Rs 1 lakh instead of mere Rs 100 being offered by Khans Maulana Jauhar Ali Trust,” he said. Thakur said the People’s Forum would also provide better service to people by providing better and cheaper education to Rampur girls.