“I am not for sale,” says Azam Khan on joining BSP; more than 80 cases still pending against the leader of the PS

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Azam Khan said he was not a commodity that could be bought or sold while responding to speculation around his joining the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

“I am not for sale. We have something called character. I am not a commodity to be bought or sold. We have proven that you can earn people’s love and respect without being for sale,” Khan told reporters on Wednesday, September 24.

“Na rehne ka kya sawaal hai (How does the question arise not to stay (with SP)),” he added, while responding to the question whether he would continue to remain associated with SP.

Khan was released from jail on Tuesday, September 23, after being granted bail in connection with the cases registered against him. He had been in Sitapur jail in Uttar Pradesh for over 23 months.

The Allahabad High Court on September 18 granted bail to the SP chief in the Quality Bar land encroachment case in UP’s Rampur district.

Read more: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan released from Sitapur jail after nearly two years

“It will come out clean,” said Khan; 81 pending cases

Khan further said that he hoped to get justice in all the cases against him. “I will be absolutely innocent,” he said, according to news agency PTI.

However, Khan’s legal woes do not appear to be over anytime soon. A Hindustan Times report said that around 81 cases are still pending trial against the ten-time MP from Rampur, including cases related to corruption, money laundering and land encroachment, among others.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax department are investigating Khan’s involvement in allegations of corruption and irregularities related to the construction of the Maulana Ali Jauhar University campus worth over ₹418 million.

Khan is said to be heading the Jauhar Trust, which runs Rampur University.

According to an official cited by the HT, the IT investigation revealed that Azam Khan allegedly used ₹106.56 crores of government money to carry out works for the university without any proper sanction. The money belonged to the Public Works Department (PWD), Jal Nigam and the Construction and Design Services (C&DS) Wing, Jal Nigam. This work was carried out without government order.

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These three departments were headed by Azam Khan when he was a minister in the Samajwadi Party government between 2012 and 2017.

The ED is also investigating the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). However, no assets of Khan have been seized yet.