Tuesday, April 30, 2013

UP members of Commonwealth delegation to skip US azam Kham

Apr 30, 2013 lucknow--





Samajwadi Party minister Mohammed Azam Khan said the three delegates from UP-who were a part of the Commonwealth delegation to US and some other countries-will not go to the United States as a mark of protest against his \"disrespectful detention\" at the Boston airport last week.





On whether the rest of the delegation to US will go ahead with the tour, Azam said it was the Government of India\'s call to make an announcement. On the basis of the hint he got from his discussion on the issue with the party\'s national president Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Centre was likely to cancel the US part of the tour for the rest of the delegates as well, said Azam, addressing a press conference at his home district and assembly constituency Rampur on Monday.



Putting aside all speculations over whether SP will withdraw its support to the UPA government on the issue, Khan said it was not the right time to withdraw support as general elections were round the corner. Refuting that he made any statement on the party\'s withdrawal of support to the UPA, he said: \"When asked by the media at Indira Gandhi International airport on whether his party should withdraw support from the UPA on the issue, I had said it was not the right time and that our party\'s national president Mulayam Singh Yadav will take a call on it,\" he said.



Azam reiterated that the Ministry of External Affairs (MoEA) in India did not take up the issue of his detention with the US as strongly as they should have had and nobody else can be held responsible for it but in-charge of the MoEA. Replying to a question, he said Salman Khurshid probably believes he (Azam) was responsible for Louise Khurshid\'s humiliating defeat in the last elections.



Asked if he really believed Khurshid had connived with the US government or its officials in Homeland Security which deals with immigration issues, Azam said: \"I have never said Salman Khurshid connived with the US officials.\" He added he had reasons to believe that the protocol officials from the Indian consulate who had come to receive them at Logan airport had instructions not to take up the issue. \"They could have at least asked the US officials to explain why I was being detained. But they did not. I had a diplomatic passport but they made no attempt to approach the US officials about it. What or who stopped them from doing so? And if nobody stopped them, why were they not reprimanded for the negligence,\" he said talking to TOI on phone shortly after the press conference.



\"If I am made to sit on a bench inside a small room and not allowed to talk to or meet fellow delegates for 45 minutes, I have the right to inquire about the reason behind such an act of the US authorities. But they did not come up with any answer whatsoever,\" Azam said, adding: \"Probably they never had one.\"



\"I refused to accept the passport and leave the airport till I got a convincing reply, but then I was assured by the Protocol officials from the Indian consulate that the issue will be taken up with the US government and pursued to a logical conclusion. But when nothing happened in the next 24 hours, we decided not to attend the Harvard University event as a mark of protest,\" Azam said when asked why the delegation did not return to India immediately after the incident at the Logan airport in Boston.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

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