Will discuss Azam issue with CM, says Ram Naik

Lucknow: Not letting the issue of senior minister Azam Khan's 'speech controversy' die down, governor Ram Naik said in Pratapgarh on Thursday that he had forwarded a letter in this regard to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
"I have written to the chief minister with reference to the unparliamentary comments of parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan. The CM is at present on foreign trip.I will talk to him once he comes back," Naik told reporters in Pratapgarh where he had gone to attend a function.
After Azam's speech during the budget session, accusing the governor of being partial, was widely reported by media, Naik sought its recording from Speaker Mata Prasad. "In a CD handed over by the Speaker in connection with the matter, out of the 60 sentences of Khan, 20 had "unparliamentary comments", although the Speaker says there was nothing undignified in it," Naik said.
After this, Naik sent his reply to the Speaker in which he said that given the unparliamentary language used by Azam Khan, he was not fit to continue as the parliamentary affairs minister. Now, he has forwarded the same letter to the CM.
With the governor not in the mood to relent on the issue, the Speaker has sought an appointment to meet him on Saturday. In view of his firm stand, the Speaker as well as the SP government is concerned about Azam's fate.
Raj Bhavan sources say that the Governor is constitutionally empowered to sack a minister, but there has been precedence. Having brought into the notice of the chief minister that one of his ministers is not worth his job, Naik is waiting for the action from him, they say.
So far, the chief minister, who is abroad, has not met the governor in this connection. But the Speaker would meet him on April 9. Apart from the Azam issue, Prasad would also apprise the sentiments of the House on the delay in decision on the bills passed and sent to him for ratification by the assembly.
This is not the first issue when the offices of the governor and the Speaker are face to face. Before this, when the Raj Bhavan had recommended a new protocol for the welcome and departure of the governor in the House, the Speaker's office had rejected it.
Insiders feel the at the Azam controversy may end if Speaker expresses his regret over the issue when he meets the governor on Saturday. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had done it as a chief minister when a similar situation had emerged during TV Rajeswar's tenure as the governor. That time also, it was Azam in middle of the row.itten to the chief minister with reference to the unparliamentary comments of parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan. The CM is at present on foreign trip. I will talk to him once he comes back," Naik told reporters in Pratapgarh where he had gone to attend a function. After Azam's speech during the budget session, accusing the governor of being partial, was widely reported by media, Naik sought its recording from Speaker Mata Prasad. "In a CD handed over by the Speaker in connection with the matter, out of the 60 sentences of Khan, 20 had "unparliamentary comments", although the Speaker says there was nothing undignified in it," Naik said.
With the governor not in the mood to relent on the issue, the Speaker has sought an appointment to meet him on Saturday. In view of his firm stand, the Speaker as well as the SP government is concerned about Azam's fate. Of late Naik has been raising the issue from almost every platform and saying that Azam was not fit to be the parliamentary affairs minister. This is not the first issue when the offices of the governor and the Speaker are face to face. Before this, when the Raj Bhavan had recommended a new protocol for the welcome and departure of the governor in the House, the Speaker's office had rejected it.
So far, the chief minister, who is abroad has not met the governor in this connection. But the Speaker would meet him on April 9. Apart from the Azam issue, Prasad would also apprise the sentiments of the House on the delay in decision on the bills passed and sent to him for ratification by the assembly.
Insiders feel the at the Azam controversy may end if Speaker expresses his regret over the issue when he meets the governor on Saturday. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had done it as a chief minister when a similar situation had emerged during TV Rajeswar's tenure as the governor. That time also, it was Azam in middle of the row.