Facing sexual harassment charges, Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan on Thursday night resigned after a section of Raj Bhavan employees demanded his removal for "seriously compromising" the dignity of the gubernatorial office.
Official sources said 67-year-old Shanmuganathan tendered his resignation from the post. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma had said earlier in the day said that he was waiting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Ministry to take a call.
Earlier Congress charged Governor for demeaning the position of the Head of the State by seriously compromising the dignity of the Raj Bhavan and unfortunately turned it into a “Young ladies Club.”
The Congress called it “disgraceful behaviour of a man who occupies one of the highest constitutional offices” in the country. “It is indeed shocking and inappropriate. We demand his immediate dismissal,” Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said.
Vadakkan also alleged that Shanmuganathan is in the habit of telling lies. “For example he went around telling people that he was alongside our great leader, Former President late APJ Abdul Kalam during his last breath in Shillong, but in reality he was sleeping in his bedroom and only after the call from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi made him run to Bethany Hospital, Shillong, although, he was advised to visit Kalam earlier. This is just an example; there are many such instances,” Vadakkan said at a Press conference.
The Congress also pointed that the Governor shunted his Principal Secretary who had an impeccable integrity and strong moral character, because he was not supporting the Governor in his nefarious activities.
In the five-page letter written on Wednesday, nearly 100 employees of the Raj Bhawan termed Shanmuganathan as being “rude, arrogant, temperamental and untruthful”, and requested the Prime Minister to remove him for “demeaning” the position and to “restore the dignity of Raj Bhawan”.
Shanmuganathan is a veteran RSS activist from Tamil Nadu who was appointed Governor in May 2015. In September last year, he was given additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh. Allegation of molestation was recently labelled against Shanmuganathan by a job aspirant who was called with six others to the Raj Bhawan last month for interviews to fill up the post of public relations officer.