Akhilesh calls on Governor, discusses various key issues

Amid stalemate over various important issues including the appointment of Lokayukta, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday met Governor Ram Naik this afternoon.

They discussed issues like appointment of Lokayukta and nomination of MLCs which have been pending for a long time, a Raj Bhawan release said.

The Governor is believed to have told the chief minister to find out a way with regard to appointment of Lokayukta after discussing the issue with Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court D Y Chandrachud, sources said. 

The Supreme Court had last week issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against it for non-compliance of its order to appoint a new Lokayukta in the state.

The Governor does not appear to be in favour of referring the Lokayukta issue for presidential consideration as it will only prolong the matter, sources said. Naik has returned the file concerning the appointment of a new Lokayukta to the state government a number of times, each time asking the chief minister to follow the proper procedure for selecting the ombudsman.

On another contentious issue of nomination of five MLCs to the Legislative Council, the governor is belived to have told the chief minister that he should send fresh names for consideration. The state government had sent a list of nine names for nomination as MLCs, but the Governor gave his approval to four, while seeking more information about the remaining five.