Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and MLA from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan along with his MLA son, Abdullah Azam, took oath as members of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Monday.
Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana administered the oath in his chamber just before the start of the Budget Session. The Speaker gifted Azam Khan a copy of the Constitution and Assembly rules.
Azam Khan, who won in the recent Assembly polls while he was in prison on different criminal charges, was recently released on bail after spending 27 months in jail. His son Abdullah Azam had won the Suar seat in Rampur. A source close to Azam Khan said that the senior leader had decided to come for the oath "on the advice of his well-wishers".
He left Rampur early Monday morning to reach Lucknow. He had earlier decided to stay away on health grounds.
Though Azam Khan did not respond to queries from media persons, when asked if he had spoken to Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav after his release from jail, he remarked "No. Maybe he (Mulayam) does not have my number."
The budget session of the UP Vidhan Sabha started today with the speech of Governor Anandiben Patel. This session will last for six days.
Read: Supreme Court grants interim bail to SP leader Azam Khan