Former Madhya Pradesh Governor and ex-Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ram Naresh Yadav passed away at SGPGI lucknow on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. The 89-year-old was a four-time MlA, once a member of the Rajya Sabha. Yadav had recently completed his term in the Raj Bhawan in Bhopal in September 2016. He had complained of breathlessness after which he was taken to hospital in lucknow.
He had not been keeping well and in fact on the last day in office he had to be taken to lucknow by air ambulance.
His last day in office was also marked by drama when a man, claiming to be an RTI activist set himself ablaze outside the Raj Bhawan in Bhopal demanding that the CBI take action against Yadav in the Vyapam scam. The fag end of his political career, when he served as the Governor, was marred by his alleged involvement in the Vyapam scam. In 2015, the MP Special Task Force lodged an FIR against him for rigging forest guard exams conducted by Vyapam. His son, Sailesh, was also an accused in the Vyapam teacher recruitment scam. Sailesh died of a brain haemorrhage in lucknow.
Yadav served as Chief Minister from 1977 to 1979 with the Janata Party. He later joined the Congress and served as Governor from 2011.
Born in Azamgarh in east UP in 1928, Yadav went on to secure MA and llB degrees from the prestigious BHU. 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 was a Rajya Sabha member from 1988 to 1989 from the lok Dal, and from 1989 to 1994, he was with the Congress. He served as Deputy Chief Minister under the Babu Banarasi Das government from 1979 to 1980.