GUWAHATI/SHILLONG: Governor of Assam Banwarilal Purohit will assume additional charge of Meghalaya and his counterpart in Nagaland, Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, will also take charge of Arunachal Pradesh.
A source in Raj Bhavan said Purohit will be sworn in at 5pm on Saturday.
Acharya will take additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh in the wake of the President accepting the resignation of Meghalaya Governor V. Shanmuganathan, according to a press communiqué issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“The President has appointed 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 communiqué said.
Shanmuganathan had to quit after his staff alleged that he had turned the Governor’s House into a “young ladies club”.
Shanmuganathan, who also holds additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh, had denied the allegations.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Raj Bhavan employees listed a series of misdemeanour, including sexual misconduct, torture and humiliation of members of the staff.
“From the time he has taken over, employees are going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture,” the employees wrote. The letter, which was widely circulated on social media, also accused the 67-year-old Governor of hiring only women in his staff thereby converting Raj Bhavan into a place where “young ladies come and go at will with direct orders from the governor”. The letter further said, “His activities hurt the decorum and prestige of Raj Bhavan as well as the sentiments of the Raj Bhavan employees. From the time he has taken over, the employees are going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture.”
The Governor was also reportedly accused in of sexually harassing a woman who had gone to face interview for the post of PRO in Raj Bhavan.
According to the message sent by the victim to a friend, the Governor had “hugged and kissed” her and that she found the behavior inappropriate during a personal interview with her. Shanmuganathan had denied these allegations too.
Shanmuganathan was appointed Governor of Meghalaya in 2015. He had also held additional charges of both Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, the latter being for a short span of time.
