SP hails Akhilesh for calling off Harvard trip

Lucknow, April 27 (IANS) 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) Saturday said the stand was "correct, justified and in line with socialist ethos".

In a statement released here, Prisons Minister and party spokesman Rajendra Chowdhary said that the chief minister has done the right thing and taught a lesson to "arrogant America who has prejudice towards Muslims".

India, he added, was a land where its visitors are treated as gods and in contrast, US humiliated people from other countries.

"We have amply demonstrated during the Kumbh how good hosts we are but the US has shown its true colours, specially against Muslims, by humiliating our minister," Chowdhary added. He further said that the chief minister had shown political maturity by calling off the Harvard lecture as a mark of protest for the treatment meted out to Azam Khan.

Meanwhile, many in the state bureaucracy said that the chief minister should have gone ahead with the HBS event and used the platform to air his resentment at the homeland security officials' behaviour towards Khan.

"It was a major opportunity for the chief minister to be launched globally, to share his vision with world most famous university...sadly he lost it" said a senior government official.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) however lashed out at Azam Khan for howing immaturity in his reactions to his frisking at the airport in Boston.

"I find this silly. Azam Khan should learn to respect law and security concerns of the other country and should take lessons from former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who behaved in the most humble manner in similar situation some years back" said state BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpayi.