BJP leader Akhan Saxena seeks Azam Khan’s disqualification from UP Assembly

LUCKNOW, (PTI): A BJP leader from Rampur on Friday urged the Election Commission of India to disqualify Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in the light of a court awarding three-year imprisonment to him in a hate speech case.

Akhan Saxena wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner a day after a court in Rampur convicted him in a hate speech case of 2019. ”Mohammad Azam Khan is a sitting MLA (from Rampur). As per provisions of the Representation of the People Act, if any public representative is given a punishment of two years by any court, then there are provisions that the membership of that public representative will cease to exist,” Saxena told PTI from Rampur.

He also mentioned in his letter the order of the court on Thursday.

Saxena had lost to Khan in this year’s Assembly elections from the Rampur Sadar seat.

Meanwhile, sources in the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer said the disqualification of a sitting MLA is decided by the Assembly Speaker. Once disqualified, the Election Commission is informed so that bypolls could be held, they said.

The Rampur court on the previous day had granted bail to Khan in the case besides providing him time to file an appeal against sentencing.

The Representation of the People Act says that anyone sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified ”from the date of such conviction” and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time in jail.

The Speaker can start the disqualification proceedings either suo motu or after receiving an application on this.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on the Rampur MLA on three counts, advocate Ajay Tiwari said.

The case was registered against Khan in Rampur in April 2019 for levelling serious allegations against administrative officials posted in Rampur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during an election meeting.

The Special MP/MLA court of Rampur found Khan guilty under Sections 153-A (inciting religious feelings), 505-A (giving false statement intended to create feelings of enmity, hatred or animosity between different communities) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 125 (promoting animosity between different classes in connection with elections) of the Representation of the People Act.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Khan was booked for making inflammatory speeches while addressing a public meeting in Khatanagaria village of the Milak Kotwali area.

The video of Khan’s statement also surfaced on social media.

Khan was released from jail earlier this year after the Supreme Court granted him an interim bail in a cheating case. He spent nearly two years in jail.

The SP leader faces nearly 90 cases, including that of corruption and theft.

He had won from the Rampur Sadar assembly seat in the UP Assembly polls for a record 10th time.

After becoming an MLA, he resigned from the Lok Sabha. (PTI)