President Pranab Mukherjee accepts resignation of Meghalaya Governor, accused of `turning Raj Bhavan into Young Ladies' Club`

On Wednesday, employees of the Raj Bhavan in Shillong sent a five-page letter to the PMO and Rashtrapati Bhavan to demand a recall of Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan.

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday accepted the resignation of V Shanmuganathan as Meghalaya Governor.

The President has appointed Banwarilal Purohit, the governor of Assam, to discharge the functions of Governor of Meghalaya. 

Shanmuganathan, who also held the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh, resigned on Thursday in the wake of accusations of inappropriate behaviour and hurting the decorum and prestige of the Raj Bhavan.

On Wednesday, employees of the Raj Bhavan in Shillong sent a five-page letter signed by nearly 100 staffers to the Prime Minister's Office and the Rashtrapati Bhavan to demand a recall of the Governor for what they alleged was "turning the Raj Bhavan into a Young Ladies` Club".

"We feel he is demeaning the position of the Head of the State. He is rude, arrogant, temperamental and untruthful. Above all, he has seriously compromised the dignity of the Raj Bhavan and unfortunately made it into a Young Ladies Club," the letter said.

"... we are not interested in his personal life. But when his activities hurt the decorum and prestige of the Raj Bhavan as well as the sentiments of the Raj Bhavan employees, who are very much attached to the Raj Bhavan, it becomes our concern," the letter added.

From the time Shanmuganathan took over, the employees alleged, they were going through "severe humiliation, mental stress, and torture".