Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan quits after allegations of molestation

Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan resigned on Thursday, after his name cropped up in a molestation case, giving rise to increasing demands of his dismissal from the constitutional post. Earlier in the day, a section of Raj Bhavan employees also demanded his removal for “seriously compromising” the dignity of the gubernatorial office. In a letter to the state’s Chief Minister, Prime Minister and the President, 98 Raj Bhavan employees said, “We expect the hon’ble Prime Minister to take action and remove the incumbent Governor of Meghalaya and restore the dignity of Raj Bhavan.” [caption id=“attachment_3004424” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] V Shanmuganathan. News18[/caption] “He (Shanmuganathan) has seriously compromised the dignity of the Raj Bhavan and made it a young ladies’ club. It has become a place where young ladies come and go at will on direct orders of the Governor… Many of them have direct access to his bedroom,” they alleged. The employees claimed that security of the Governor’s house has also been compromised. The 11 point-letter stated the Governor has “appointed two public relations officers, a cook and a nurse on night duty, all of whom are women”. The staff alleged that the Governor “selected only girls” to work for him and shifted the male official private secretary to his secretariat. Following this, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said thet he was waiting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Ministry to take a call on the issue. “We will await for what call they will take (on the complaint),” he told PTI. “Based on whatever is available with the government, we will inform the Prime Minister and the MHA as it is our duty and responsibility. “We fulfil our responsibility and beyond that at this juncture I will not comment further,” Sangma said. Meanwhile, women activists have begun a signature campaign here seeking Shanmuganathan’s removal. The campaign, being spearheaded by women-led Civil Society Women Organisation (CSWO) and Thma u Rangli (TUR), was launched following reports of inappropriate behaviour by the Governor. Shanmuganathan, who took over as the Governor of Meghalaya in May last year, on Thursday attended a Republic Day celebration in Arunachal Pradesh, whose additional charge he holds since November last year following the removal of Jyoti Prashad Rajkhowa. With inputs from PTI