"It is basic humanity that we meet them when the entire family is jailed and in crisis today."
On his way to meet jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Congress leader Ajay Rai said that it is basic humanity that we meet him and it's not right to see this from a political perspective.
Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeem Fatima, and his son Abdullah Azam, who were convicted by a court in Uttar Pradesh on October 18 in a fake birth certificate case, were awarded a seven-year jail term and a fine of Rs 15,000 to all three of them. They are currently lodged in Sitapur Jail.
Ajay Rai told ANI "It is basic humanity that we meet them when the entire family is jailed and in crisis today. Now it is unfortunate that we will be prevented from meeting each other. When someone is in pain, it is our duty to stand with them. When he was Minister and I was an MLA from BJP, whenever I went to him with any work, he never denied it. He did all my work and also gave me respect."
"If this time is also seen from a political perspective, then it is not right. Humanity comes first," he added.
Ajay Rai's gesture hasn't gone down well with the Samajwadi Party with SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav questioning the Congress' intent.
"Where was the Congress when Azam Khan was being targeted, the leaders of the Congress were in-fact targeting Azam Khan" said Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday.
The Congress and the SP have been involved in a war of words after Akhilesh Yadav accused the Congress of betraying his party by failing to arrive at a seat sharing agreement in the MP Assembly polls.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)