Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan resigned after news of sexual assaults surfaced against him in local media. The report accused him of sexual misconduct alleged by a woman who had come looking for a job at the Governor’s Office.
A week after this incident, a letter was sent to PM Modi by the staff of the Governor’s House. The letter accuses the Governor of “compromising with the dignity of his office”. Notably, the Governor, who also has the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh, has denied the allegations.
“All these things are not right… We have selected only one person. Those who were not selected should not say all these things,” the Governor said to local daily Shillong Times.
About 98 workers of the same Governor’s House signed a letter and sent to PM Modi. Reportedly, the letter levelled various accusations against the Governor including humiliating and mistrusting his employees and sexual misconduct. The latter demanded that a probe to be held against him.
The letter also made it clear that the accusations were backed by proof that could be supplied if required. The employees alleged that Shanmuganathan had “seriously compromised the dignity of the Raj Bhavan and made it a ‘young ladies club’.
“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. From the time he has taken over, the employees are going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture,” reads the letter.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma wants PM Modi and the Home Ministry to take a call on the issue. The resignation also came after a protest in Shillong. The civil society groups hit the streets on Republic Day in a protest.
“Our demand is that the Governor should step down. We want impartial probe. The sexual harassment act should be properly implemented in Meghalaya, there should be an internal committee in on sexual harassment in governor’s house,” said one of the protesters.
