Lucknow, March 28 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Monday again rejected the names recommended by the state government for nomination as Members of Legislative Council (MLC).
The development brings into focus the growing rift between Raj Bhavan and the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the state.
A statement issued by Raj Bhavan said the governor has sought a fresh set of names while returning the list to the state government after due consideration.
The five names that the governor has rejected twice, include Kamlesh Kumar Pathak, Sanjay Seth, Ranvijay Singh, Abdul Sarfaraz Khan and Rajpal Kashyap.
The statement further said the governor has also mentioned that during his last meeting with Akhilesh Yadav on the matter, he had been assured by the chief minister that a fresh list with new names would be sent to him soon.
The governor said there were criminal cases against many people whose names were sent for nomination to the legislative council, adding that under section 171(5) of the Constitution, none had experience and recognition in science, literature, arts, cooperative struggles and social service.
Akhilesh had sent nine names to Governor Naik in May 2015. But the governor rejected five names while approving the names of Leelavati Kushwaha, Ram Singh Yadav, Ram Vriksha Singh and Jitendra Yadav, on July 2, 2015.
The development is being viewed in political circles as a new addition to the souring relations between Raj Bhavan and the Samajwadi Party government in the state.
Naik had recently taken serious offence at the diatribe of cabinet minister Mohammed Azam Khan even suggesting that there were doubts of whether he deserved to be a parliamentary affairs minister or not.
The Samajwadi Party hit back at the governor by openly siding with Khan, saying that some people were hatching conspiracies against an "able politician, a good orator and a leader of people".
