The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ram Naresh Yadav, passed away on Tuesday. He was 90.
He died at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow after a prolonged illness. Yadav also served as the Madhya Pradesh Governor.
Starting off with the socialist movement, the fag end of the political career of the four-time MLA and member of both Houses of Parliament, was marred by his alleged involvement in the Vyapam scam. In 2015, the MP Special Task Force lodged an FIR against Yadav, then Governor of MP, for rigging forest guard exams conducted by the Vyapam. The MP High Court quashed the FIR holding that he enjoyed immunity while in office.
Yadav’s son Shailesh, whose name also figured in the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Lucknow last year.
Yadav served as Chief Minister of U.P. from 1977 to 1979 with the Janata Party. He later joined the Congress.
Born in Azamgarh in east U.P. in 1928, Yadav went on to secure M.A and LLB degrees from the prestigious Banaras Hindu University and was a lawyer by profession. Participating in the socialist movement, he was imprisoned for 19 months during the Emergency. In 1977, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Azamgarh as a Janata Party candidate. He then went on to become a Rajya Sabha member from 1988 to 1989 with the Lok Dal, and from 1989 to 1994 with the Congress. He served as Deputy Chief Minister under the Babu Banarasi Das government from 1979 to 1980.
Many leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.P. CM Akhilesh Yadav, his MP counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan and SP supremo Mulayam Singh expressed grief over Ram Naresh Yadav’s demise.
“The Prime Minister has condoled the passing away of former U.P. Chief Minister & MP Governor, Shri Ram Naresh Yadav,” the PMO tweeted. While stating that Ram Naresh Yadav would be remembered for his simplicity and socialist ideals, Akhilesh Yadav said his death was an irreparable loss. He worked for the interest of farmers and the poor, the CM said.
