Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan gets additional charge of Arunachal

Itanagar: Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan was on Wednesday sworn in as acting Governor of Arunachal Pradesh by Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajit Singh at the Raj Bhavan here.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his council of ministers, members of the state assembly, former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, Chief Secretary Shakuntala Gamlin and senior officers were present when Shanmuganathan was administered the oath of office.

Shanmuganathan was given the additional charge after Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa was removed from the gubernatorial post by President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday after he (Rajkhowa) refused to step down.

The swearing-in was followed by presentation of a guard of honour by the Arunachal Pradesh Police.

Rajkhowa, a former IAS officer of the Assam cadre, was appointed Governor of the border state on May 12, 2015, by the National Democratic Alliance government.

Rajkhowa had told the media in September that he has been asked to put in his papers on health grounds but he will not do so as he was fully fit.

A former Chief Secretary of Assam, Rajkhowa had sparked a row by his decision to advance the Arunachal Pradesh assembly session from January 14, 2016, to December 16, 2015, to conduct the floor test of the then Nabam Tuki government.

The Congress government had resisted the holding of the session on the assembly premises, following which it was held at a community hall and attended by rebel Congress MLAs, besides two Independents and BJP MLAs.

However, the Supreme Court in July 2016 directed status quo ante as it existed on December 15, 2015, restoring the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

The court quashed Rajkhowa's decision to advance the assembly session by a month and said the Governor "cannot interfere in the activities of the assembly".

The court quashed the President's Rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh and all decisions taken by Governor Rajkhowa that led to the formation of a new government led by a breakaway faction of the Congress.