Ram Naresh Yadav

Ram Naresh Yadav (1 July 1928 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1977 to 1979. He was from Janata Party; later he joined the Congress. He also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 26 August 2011 to 7 September 2016.

He was born on 1 July 1928 at Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a middle-class family. His father was a teacher. Ram Naresh Yadav was a successful lawyer in Azamgarh court. He died on 22 November 2016 in Lucknow.

Ram Naresh Yadav was interested in social work and was close to socialist leader Raj Narain. He entered the Sixth Lok Sabha in 1977 from Azamgarh constituency. He was considered a modest and a low-profile politician.

He became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 23 June 1977, and remained on the post till 28 February 1979. On 25 February 1979, he failed to secure a vote of confidence. Banarsi Das was elected in his place and became Chief Minister.

In 2004 general elections, he contested from Azamgarh constituency on Indian National Congress ticket, but lost to Bahujan Samaj Party's Ramakant Yadav. On 26 August 2011, he was appointed as Governor of Madhya Pradesh by the President of India, Pratibha Patil, on the recommendation of the UPA government.

On February 24, 2015, Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) filed an FIR against Yadav for his alleged role in the multi-crore Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam (Vyapam scam). He was charged with rigging the forest guard recruitment examination, conducted by Vyapam, and booked under the Information Technology Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The FIR was registered after a MP High Court hearing where Chief Justice A M Khanvilkar and Justice Alok Aradhe said STF can freely proceed against any "high dignitary". Yadav moved the high court citing constitutional immunity, which subsequently in April asked STF to "observe complete protocol", the Governor being the Head of the State. The head of the special investigative team (SIT) probing the scam said that action will be taken after his retirement in September, 2016. Meanwhile, a group of lawyers filed a petition in Supreme Court of India, seeking removal of Yadav and recording his statement in the case. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India H. L. Dattu and Justices Arun Kumar Mishra and Amitava Roy has agreed to hear the petition on July 9.

Earlier in 2013, STF arrested his former OSD Dhanraj Yadav in connection with the scam. Also, his son Shailesh was an accused in the MPPEB contractual teachers' recruitment exam, and reportedly died of a brain haemorrhage in March, at Yadav's Lucknow residence.