Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh minister Shivpal Singh Yadav's letter to US President Barack Obama on cabinet colleague Azam Khan being detained at Boston airport has triggered a controversy with opposition parties and civil society activists terming it objectionable.
In a petition sent to Governor BL Joshi, activist Urvashi Sharma termed the letter written by the Public Works Department (PWD) minister as unconstitutional and against diplomatic norms under which external affairs is a central not a state subject.
"This is highly objectionable and cannot be wished away," Sharma told reporters, "No leader from any state can directly address the head of any other state like this."
Leaders cutting across party lines also come down heavily on Shivpal Yadav. "This government and its ministers are known for their illegal and anti-constitutional acts so the letter written by Shivpal Singh Yadav comes as no surprise," said senior Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui....
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05:58 PM, May 01, 2013
Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who was briefly detained on Wednesday at a US airport, returned to India on Monday morning. Khan has accused External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid of hatching a "conspiracy" to defame him outside India. ...
11:54 PM, Apr 29, 2013
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who was briefly detained on Wednesday at a US airport, returned to India on Monday morning. Khan has accused External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid of hatching a "conspiracy" to defame him outside India. Miffed with Khan's detention at the airport, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who was scheduled to give a lecture in the Harvard University on April 27, boycotted it. Yadav...
09:38 AM, Apr 29, 2013
New York: Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan, who was briefly detained on Wednesday at a US airport, on Sunday accused External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid of hatching a "conspiracy" to defame him outside India. He even claimed that a call on continuation of Samajwadi Party's support to the UPA government will be taken by party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav after hearing his version and that of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav...
11:05 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Lucknow: Amid criticism that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav should not have cancelled his lecture at the Harvard Business School to protest "extended frisking" of Urban Development Minister Azam Khan at a Boston airport, his Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday said the stand was "correct, justified and in line with socialist ethos". In a statement released in Lucknow, Prisons Minister and party spokesman Rajendra Chowdhary said that the chief...
04:41 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Bulandshahr: Taking a different stand from his party, Uttar Pradesh minister Devender Gupta on Saturday said there was nothing wrong if his cabinet colleague Azam Khan was frisked at a US airport. The UP minister for solar energy said that even former President APJ Abdul Kalam was frisked in 2012 and bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was detained for over two hours at a New York airport. "Who is Azam...
03:29 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Boston: Miffed with the alleged detention of his cabinet minister Azam Khan at the Boston airport, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cancelled a reception to be hosted in his honour by New York Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay on Saturday besides boycotting the Harvard lecture. A communique from the Consulate General of India in New York merely stated "that due to unavoidable circumstances, the reception scheduled to be held in...
08:55 AM, Apr 27, 2013
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party on Friday sought an apology from the US for the "insult" caused by the questioning of Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan at the Logan International Airport in Boston. "We demand an apology from the US on the issue as Indians cannot be insulted like this after being invited," senior SP leader Naresh Agarwal said. Khan, a senior leader of the ruling SP in UP and also...
10:50 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Almaty: Downplaying the detention of UP Minister Azam Khan at a US airport, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said the strict immigration procedures were one of the requirements of travelling to that country. At the same time, Khurshid said that India has always urged for greater sensitivity and courtesy in such matters and if there has been any departure from normal course, the government would take it up...
05:42 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohammad Azam Khan has decided to cut short his US trip after his "long and humiliating frisking" at the Logan airport in Boston, an official said in Lucknow. In a statement issued by his personal assistant Muktinath Jha late Thursday, the Minister alleged that on the pretext of frisking him homeland security officials humiliated him, and that he was targeted because he is a Muslim. Although...
10:55 AM, Apr 26, 2013
Washington: Taking serious note of the questioning of the Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan at the Logan International Airport in Boston, the Indian Embassy has raised the issue with the State Department in Washington. "The issue has been taken up with the State Department," the Indian Embassy spokesman, M Sridharan, said in a response to a question if the Embassy was aware of the incident at Boston airport on Wednesday....
07:55 AM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh's senior Cabinet Minister Azam Khan on Thursday alleged that he was stopped at the Boston Airport and frisked by airport authorities. He also claimed that US authorities misbehaved with him. Azam Khan, who is accompanying Chief Minister Akhilesh Uadav for a Harvard University event in the US, was detained briefly for questioning at Boston International Airport. According to sources familiar with the incident, Khan was detained...
11:18 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday left for the United States to deliver a lecture at Harvard Business School. Akhilesh will address students on the successful hosting of Maha Kumbh 2013. Akhilesh is expected to talk about the administrative challenges faced in hosting the 55-day long event. The successful hosting of Maha Kumbh 2013 has earned UP CM Akhilesh an invite from Harvard University to speak...
10:10 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Barabanki: At a time when his party chief is projecting a major national role for himself, SP leader Azam Khan on Thursday said Manmohan Singh may become the Prime Minister for the third time if the UPA retains power. "Manmohan Singh may hit the jackpot again as a consensus is emerging in UPA over his name if the alliance is voted back to power," the senior SP leader said in...
02:07 AM, Apr 12, 2013
Rampur: The war of words between the Samajwadi Party and Congress continued as UP minister Mohammad Azam Khan on Tuesday fired a fresh salvo on the UPA, accusing it creating a "fear psychosis" among allies to ensure their continued support. "The UPA works with a policy of 'Darao Aur Raaj Karo' (create fear to rule) to enjoy continuous support of their allies," Azam said in Rampur. The senior Samajwadi Party...
05:47 PM, Apr 09, 2013
Rampur: Some Samajwadi Party members allegedly locked up an engineer in a room and then thrashed him brutally in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur. Azam Khan, an important and powerful minister in the state Cabinet, represents Rampur constituency in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Water department engineer Janardan Singh was allegedly beaten up for not installing hand pumps. The Samajwadi Party members also threatened Janardan Singh of dire consequences if he failed to...
01:44 PM, Apr 04, 2013
Taking a line different from party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav who recently praised LK Advani, Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan on Monday termed the BJP veteran a leader of "weak character". "Advani was an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case and he pays obeisance at the grave of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and terms himself as a secular. ...
03:55 AM, Mar 26, 2013
After Uttar Pradesh played host to the world's largest religious congregation during Mahakumbh in Allahabad, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Minister Mohammad Azam Khan have been invited by the Harvard University to share the story of organising the 55-day event. ...
04:17 PM, Mar 24, 2013
There are 2,63,697 cases pending in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court as of October 2012, the UP government informed the Assembly on Monday. ...
03:53 PM, Mar 18, 2013
The Uttar Pradesh government had demanded 50 trains to clear the massive rush during the Maha Kumbh but got only 12 before the stampede on the Allahabad junction, in which 36 persons lost their lives, state minister Azam Khan said on Wednesday. ...
10:49 PM, Mar 06, 2013
