Samajwadi Party waves Rajya Sabha support card in fight against Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik

NEW DELHI: The Samajwadi Party has asked the Centre to dismiss Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik for his barbs against the Akhilesh Yadav government in the state, seeking its pound of flesh in return for potential cooperation in the Rajya Sabha.

The ruling BJP, which lacks majority in the upper house of Parliament, is staring at a washout in the ongoing monsoon session amid the Congress’ refusal to let the Rajya Sabha function unless the government gives in to its demand of removing Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan from their posts due to their alleged involvement in the Lalit Modi and Vyapam controversies.

“Samajwadi Party requests PM to remove UP governor Ram Naik from his position and declare him the BJP chief ministerial candidate for 2017 UP assembly elections so that he can shamelessly continue to pass remarks against the state government,” Ram Gopal Yadav, leader of the SP in Rajya Sabha, said in Delhi on Monday.

Yadav further said, “He regularly attends RSS functions and gives irresponsible statements. We have no objections to him working full-time in the service of the RSS and the BJP after vacating his constitutional position.”

The demand of SP, the third largest party in the Rajya Sabha, holds significance at a time when BJP is pinning its hopes on opposition parties other than the Congress to bail it out after no legislative business could be transacted in the first week of the session because of disruptions.