Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to appoint Justice (retired) Sanjay Mishra as the new anti-graft ombudsman. “We welcome the apex court decision,” Yadav told reporters when asked to comment on the new appointment. The appointment of lokayukta in UP had snowballed into a major controversy last year with Governor Ram Naik refusing to accept the name of Justice (retd) Raveendra Singh and asking the chief minister to follow proper procedure for selecting the ombudsman.
Governor Ram Naik, who was instrumental in the rejection of the names of lokayukta sent by State government at least in the case of Ravindra Singh, has also welcomed the announcement of the name of Justice (retd) Sanjay Mishra as the new lokayukta of the state.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, also hailed the Apex Court for appointing Mishra as new ombudsman. ``Decision of Apex Court to appoint Sanjay Mishra as new lokayukta is a great shock to state government’s caste politics preferring officials of just one community for all top constitution and government assignments”, asserted former chief minister while pointing towards the SC judgement on lokayukta appointment issue. She said that Mishra is an upright man and both chief justice of Allahabad High Court, DY Chandrachud and leader of Opposition of in the State Assembly, Swami Prasad Maruya should be thanked for taking up the issue and getting a right man selected for the post.
Congress and Bharatiya Janta Party also hailed the decision.`` It is another major setback for the State government and exposed that how the people running the government could not find any right person except for the officials of a particular caste”, charged chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Congress state media cell, Satyadeo Tripathi. He said that if the court made further review of the persons selected by SP government for appointment to constitutional post than it would find that talents and right persons were ignored just to adjust member of a particular caste, Tripathi added.
BJP state spokesman also hailed the decision and said that State Government should now explain that why they made so much delay in making appointment of new lokayukta that SC had to intervene in the matter.