UP CM avoids direct showdown with Guv on Lokayukta issue

Avoiding a direct showdown, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today skirted the issue of Governor Ram Naik sending back twice in a week his recommendation for appointing Justice (retd) Raveendra Singh as the new Lokayukta.
"Don't ask me about it...Ask others," was his curt reply to a reporter's question on the controversy over the key appointment.
The state has been witnessing a tug-of-war between Raj Bhawan and the state government over the Lokayukta's appointment with the file recommending Singh's name being twice returned by the governor, who has sought further details on the issue.
A similar confrontation with the previous governor had taken place in the very first week after the Akhilesh Yadav government came to power in 2012, when it had sought to extend the term of the Lokayukta from six years to eight.

The government had its way and the sitting Lokayukta, N K Mehrotra, completed nine years in office.
This time, the government officially recommended Singh's name on August 5. The file has since gone back and forth two times from each side.