In a serious turn of event, as many as 80 employees of Meghalaya’s Raj Bhawan have written to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee demanding the immediate ouster of the state’s governor, V Shanmuganathan, on molestation and sexual abuse charges.
A report by Indian Express said that these employees alleged in their letter that Shanmuganathan, orginally an RSS activist, had converted the Raj Bhavan into a “young ladies’ club” and his “his activities hurt the decorum and prestige of the Raj Bhavan as well as sentiments of the Raj Bhavan employees.”
The letter further added, “The worst problem is that the Raj Bhavan has now under this Governor become a place where young ladies come and go at will with direct orders from the Governor. The security of the Governor’s house is also being seriously compromised.”
The veteran RSS worker is accused of molesting an unnamed woman, who had appeared for an interview for a PRO’s post at Raj Bhavan last December. Shanmuganathan allegedly made inappropriate advances by “hugging and kissing her.”
However, a Hindustan Times report said that the governor had denied allegations of causing disrepute to Raj Bhavan.
“I wanted to meet them (the job aspirants) before finalising the candidates and they all came. Everyone was there for half an hour. I have great respect for everyone. I have not done anything wrong,” he’s reported to have told local newspapers over phone.
Shanmuganathan holds additional charges of Arunachal Pradesh as governor.