Azam claims PM met Dawood in Pak; baseless: Govt

Lucknow/New Delhi: Government Sunday dismissed as "false and baseless" the allegation of senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who plumbed new depths to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Lahore at the residence of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

"There are some statements alleging that the Prime Minister met Dawood Ibrahim in Lahore at the residence of PM Nawaz Sharif. It is unfounded, baseless and false," an official spokesman said reacting to Khan's statement.

While BJP attacked Khan, even a Congress spokesperson said attached no importance to it saying it cannot be believed.

"Prime Minister visited Pakistan by breaking international laws. He also met Dawood there. Let him (Modi) deny. I will give evidence. Who all did he meet behind closed doors?" Khan said.

He said besides Sharif, his mother, his wife and daughters, Dawood Ibrahim was also present when Modi met them at the Pakistan Prime Minister's residence when he went there on December 25 last.

BJP's Sudhanshu Mittal asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to "immediately" dismiss the minister.

"If Akhilesh means business, he should immediately dismiss him for disturbing communal harmony and brining shame to the nation. I am shocked," he said.

Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said Khan has been in public life for a long time and he should not have made the statement without substantiating it.

"We may have differences with a lot of personalities but that does not mean we believe in whatever is said," he said adding that Khan is the same person who asked UP policemen to trace his buffalo.