My relationship with Yadav clan will take centuries to end, says Azam Khan | Lucknow News

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party veteran Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam met party chief Akhilesh Yadav at his Lucknow s residence on Friday morning. After the meeting Azam described his bond with the Yadav clan as a relationship that started 50-years ago and would take centuries to end.The 40-minute meeting put to rest speculations that Azam was unhappy with the SP leadership.Shortly after the meeting, Akhilesh Yadav, who left for Bihar to campaign for INDIA bloc candidates, posted photographs of the meeting on X. “Na jaane kitni yaadein sang le aaye, Jab wo aaj hamare ghar par aaye. Ye jo mel-milaap hai, yahi hamari saanjhi virasat hai (Today when he (Azam) visited my home, he brought with him innumerable memories. These meetings and (exchange of) greetings are a part of our legacy that we share),” Akhilesh wrote in Hindi.Azam Khan too left nothing to chance to reinforce his bond with the Yadav clan. “My relationship with this home is half a century old. It would take years to weaken it and centuries to break it. I may not have centuries left, but this bond continues with the next generation,” Azam told reporters. “If ever any rust gathers on it, I will clean it myself. No one else is needed,” he said.Talking to the media in his inimitable style about the prevailing political scenario in the country, Azam Khan minced no words when he said that he could sense that “change was in the air” and that he would be a part of the change. Describing his meeting with Akhilesh Yadav as an attempt to send across a message of “resilience and change,” Azam said the idea behind the meeting was to convey the sentiments of people who have been met with gross injustice and find out ways to bring about a change.“Many of our people are still in jail. During our meeting, we reminded each other of those painful times so that future generations remember that such injustice once took place,” Azam said. He decried blatant misuse of govt agencies but added that change was in the air. “I can sense change. Those who once opposed me now come to meet me, embrace me, and weep. That is a sign of transformation,” he said.Azam along with Abdullah had checked into a Lucknow hotel on Thursday and spent the day meeting party leaders and functionaries till late night. Azam also visited party spokesperson Somaiya Rana, daughter of Urdu poet Munawar Rana who passed away in Jan this year when Azam was in jail. This was the second meeting between Akhilesh and Azam after the latter’s release from jail on bail on Sept 23 this year, after roughly 28 months of imprisonment. On Oct 8, Akhilesh Yadav had flown down to Rampur to meet Azam Khan at his residence and had described him as a “strong pillar” of SP. He had even announced that all false cases against the SP veteran and others like him would be withdrawn if SP was voted to form the govt in the 2027 assembly polls.