PIL seeks removal of UP Governor Ram Naik for Ram temple remark

ALLAHABAD: A public interest litigation has been filed in Allahabad High Court seeking removal of Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik for his reported statement in which he had favoured construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

The PIL, filed yesterday by the UP Chapter of Citizens for Democracy, has sought a direction from the court to the Centre that Naik "either be dismissed or transferred to another state" for making the statement during a visit to Faizabad last month.

The petitioner has alleged that the Governor's remark was "mala fide" and "partisan" and that he had commented on a matter that was "sub judice", which he must not have done as he occupied a Constitutional post.

The PIL is likely to come up for hearing after resumption of judicial work at the court, which has been hit for nearly a month due to an ongoing strike by lawyers in protest against proposed construction of a separate bench for western UP.