SP leader Imran Masood counters UP CM, calls for release of Azam Khan

Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 14 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Imran Masood on Monday urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to get former state minister and SP leader Azam Khan out of the jail.
Masood's statement came in response to Adityanath's statement that the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav does not want Azam Khan out of jail because it will pose a threat to his position.
"I would then request Yogi Ji only with folded hands to get Azam Sahab out of the jail. We will be grateful. What is he talking about, framing Azam Sahab for robbery with no shame? He has made a joke out of politics," Masood told ANI.
Reacting to earlier remarks of the Chief Minister that the UP polls will be between 80:20 (of the people), Masood said that 80 per cent of the people are with the Samajwadi Party.
"He (Adityanath) has said it rightly so, he just made a mistake as 80 per cent of the people in the state are with us (Samajwadi Party) and only 20 per cent with them (BJP)," he added.
Earlier on Monday, taking a jibe at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath said that Yadav does not want former minister and party leader Azam Khan to come out of prison because 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.
Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020 last year over several cases registered against him. (ANI)