President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday accepted the resignation of V Shanmuganathan as Governor of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, against whom allegations of “seriously compromising” the dignity of the gubernatorial office were levelled.
In a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan, Press Secretary to the President, Venu Rajamony said the President has accepted the resignation of Shanmuganathan.
“The President of India is pleased to appoint Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Assam to discharge the functions of the Governor of Meghalaya and Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, Governor of Nagaland, to discharge the functions of the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, in addition to their own duties, until regular arrangements for the offices of the Governor of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh are made,” the statement said.
67-year-old Shanmuganathan had tendered his resignation from the post. Nearly 100 Raj Bhavan staff in Shillong petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking their intervention to remove the Governor and restore the dignity of Raj Bhavan.
The employees had alleged that Shanmuganathan had “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.”
Women activists had begun a signature campaign here seeking Shanmuganathan’s removal. The campaign, spearheaded by women-led Civil Society Women Organisation (CSWO) and Thma u Rangli (TUR), was launched following reports of inappropriate behaviour by the Governor. A woman job aspirant had also accused the governor of making advances when she was appeared for an interview at the Raj Bhavan.
