Govt-Raj Bhawan stand off: SP adamant, won’t revise MLC list

Raj Bhawan conducting verification of every name before giving its nod

Mulayam Singh Yadav

Samajwadi Party appears to be in no mood to revise the list of nine persons it had recommended to the state Legislative Council under the nominated members category though most of them do not qualify the eligibility criteria.

Governor Ram Naik has reportedly sought detailed information from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to run background checks on these nine persons.

Nine MLC seats fell vacant on Monday, for which the state government had sent the list of names to the Governor on May 20.

[related-post]

While SP leaders are hopeful that things will settle down with the intervention of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh, Raj Bhawan, on its part, is devoting its time to verify every name before giving its nod.

“The queries posed by Raj Bhawan will be answered as per law. There is no question of revising the list. Things will be taken up once the chief minister returns from abroad,” said state SP spokesperson and Cabinet Minister Rajendra Choudhary. For collecting details, the government has written to district magistrates and SSPs of the native districts of those nominated. “We will provide the details as sought by Raj Bhawan… There is no crisis,” Choudhary said.

Raj Bhawan has received complaints from various social organisations raising question on the recommended names. The queries it has raised are — details of contribution in respective fields by seeking nomination, criminal record, if any, their personal details and pending government dues, if any.

SP leaders said hardly anyone among those nominated will qualify the listed categories of art, culture, literature, cooperative and social work, as at least eight of them are in active politics and the ninth one is a builder, Sanjay Seth, who is allegedly close to Mulayam’s son Prateek Yadav.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram