By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, JAN 26: Embroiled in neck-deep controversy over his inappropriate behavior towards ladies, Meghalaya governor V Shanmuganathan has now become a persona-non-grata in the state as ngos embarked on signature campaign for his recalls.
The signature campaign for his recall by a group of 10 activists from the Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) and Civil Society Women’s Organization (CSWO) took place right in front of the Raj Bhavan’s gate on the afternoon of Republic Day celebration.
Till Tuesday Shanmuganathan was reeling under the slur of having molested a job aspirant (inappropriate behavior clarified the victim) in Raj Bhavan published by an English local daily Highland Post, the constitution head of the state was on Wednesday bombarded with another allegation of having turn the Raj Bhavan into a “Young Ladies Club.”
The allegation can be deemed to very serious as it was part of a memorandum shot by the Raj Bhavan staff to the Prime Minister. The memorandum has listed many allegations against the Governor.
The first few lines of the memorandum stated, “He (Shanmuganathan) has seriously compromised the dignity of the Raj Bhavan and unfortunately made the Raj Bhavan into a “Young Ladies Club.”
Though the Governor was not there in Shillong Raj Bhavan as he is away in Arunachal Pradesh of which he is also holding charge, the Shillong Raj Bhavan was open on Republic Day with official attending at home graced by chief minister Mukul Sangma.
The ngos collected over 400 signatures during the campaign in front of Raj Bhavan. The ngos warned that the anti-Governor campaign would continue for some more days before they submitted the letter and the signatures to the President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for necessary action.
Appealing to the public to support the campaign, TUR leader Angela Rangad said, “We demand he (Governor) immediately step down so that there will be a free and fair investigation into the matter.”
Stating that campaign is to send a message that the people of Meghalaya will not tolerate sexual harassment and crimes against women and children, she said, “We can’t allow an RSS to come in my land and abuse women.”
“We are here to support all women and urged all of them to come up and speak out against such acts,” Rangad said while informing that the protest is also part of an effort to protect the sanctity of the highest office.
CSWO chief Anges Kharshiing said the Governor’s alleged involvement in sexual harassment of women comes at a time when demand for the state home minister to step down is also underway.
“This practice of “let me hug and kiss you then I’ll give you job” should not be tolerated,” she said while demanding protection to the staff of the Raj Bhavan as per Whistle Blower Act.
The letter that will be shot to President Pranab Mukherjee states, “We the citizens of Meghalaya are shocked at the various media reports about the inappropriate behavior by our Governor towards women job applicants as well as abuse of his official constitutional position.”
The letter states that in this age where sexual harassment cannot be exonerated, these allegations need to be investigated independently while ensuring anonymity of the complainants. The letter appeals to the president to ensure that V Shanmuganathan steps down till the investigation is completed.
Following are some points of the Raj Bhavan staff letter:
Respected Hon’ble Prime Minister,
We would like to draw your kind attention to our grievances against the Governor of Meghalaya, Shri V. Shanmuganathan. 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 the Raj Bhavan into a“ Young Ladies Club”.
We would like to clarify at the onset that 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. From the time he has taken over, the employees are going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture.
To prove the above allegations, we will later give certain facts with papers and photos which we believe will convince you of our charges against the Governor.
* He is in the habit of telling lies. For example he went around telling people that he was alongside our great leader, Former President of India, Late APJ Abdul Kalam during his last breath in Shillong, but in reality he was sleeping in his bedroom and only after the call from the Hon’ble Prime Minister made him run to Bethany Hospital, Shillong, although, he was advised to visit Late APJ Abdul Kalam earlier. This is just an example; there are many such instances.
* He shunted the Principal Secretary to the Governor overnight, who had an impeccable integrity and strong moral character, because he was not supporting the Governor in his nefarious activities.
* After the Principal Secretary to the Governor was removed, he has turned the VVIP’s dining room (a very old historical room with a rich legacy) into office and made the incumbent Secretary to sit there and has reshuffled the staffs from the Governor’s Secretariat and made only all the young girls from the Secretariat to work for him. He has transferred his own Private Secretary, who is a male, to the Governor’s Secretariat when he should be attached personally to the Governor.
* The Governor insulted, humiliated and psychologically tortured officers and staffs of Raj Bhavan, Meghalaya to such an extent that the then Deputy Secretary after being severely insulted and humiliated on 28.10.2016, he suffered from brain stroke in the office during office hours and had to be put on Intensive Care Unit & Life Support immediately at Woodland Hospital after the incident and he later succumbed in the hospital on 3.11.2016.
* It is pertinent to mention that when the late Deputy Secretary was struggling for life at the hospital, a lunch party was organised by the Governor for the employees of Raj Bhavan on the very next day, i.e., the 29th October 2016 wherein half of the employees did not take part due to the grief and sadness of the ill health of the Late Deputy Secretary. After his death when the Governor visited the hospital he was more interested in taking Photos and showed no grief.
* He has distrust towards the Raj Bhavan employees and appointed three Assam rifles uniformed personnel. He has kept them to look after the kitchen, garden and office, even though we have our own Under Secretary to look after the office, Comptroller of Household to look after the functioning of the main building and Horticulture Development Officer to look after the garden, who are all very efficient officers. This shows that he does not trust any staff of the Raj Bhavan who have been working for years with the former Governors and never such thing has ever happened in Raj Bhavan in the past.
*But 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. It is well known that many of these ladies have direct access to his bedroom.
*The ADC’s to the Governor also know about all the activities happening inside the Raj Bhavan, but they too have turned a blind eye towards the ongoing activities.
*After his taking over the following appointments were made:
Ø Smti Bhanumati, a lady from Chennai appointed as Personal Cook.
Ø Miss Chinmoyee Deka, from Jorhat ,Assam appointed as Personal Assistant and then was given the post of PRO.
– Both the above employees apart from their salary are, as per directions of the Governor, provided with free lodging, food, laundry services, toiletry items, vehicles, and stays in Raj Bhavan as can be seen from the attached photos/videos whereas they are not entitled to such facilities.
Ø Chinmoyee’s relatives and friends, mostly young ladies, are entitled to the same facilities and such visits are quite frequent.
Ø Raj Bhavan already has a permanent medical set up with a doctor and two assistants. Additionally a nurse for day duty has been appointed by the Governor. Recently, he has appointed a private nurse on night duty also.
Ø From 15th to 25th October, 2016 a lady so-called nurse was provided free stay, food etc., and finally left as it is alleged that the Governor misbehaved with her at night. Other so-called lady nurses also stayed at Raj Bhavan at different points of time.
Ø It is also worth mentioning that whenever the Governor is on Tour outside the State, he is accompanied by Miss Chinmoyee Deka, except surprisingly for his visit to his home town Chennai. When Miss Chinmoyee Deka is not accompanying the Governor on his tour she is enjoying holidays at her home town, Jorhat, Assam. Further, Miss Deka has no office as she works from her bed room named “Rilang” which is attached to the Governor’s bedroom and handles his Facebook Account and other social sites accounts.
Ø When this Governor was in-charge Governor of Manipur, Chinmoyee used to accompany the Governor to Imphal and stay in the same room with the Governor in Raj Bhavan, Imphal.
Ø The Governor’s immoral activities in relation to women is well known and can be verified from the staffs of Raj Bhavan, Shillong, the staffs of Meghalaya House, New Delhi and Meghalaya House, Kolkata.
Ø On 7th November, 2016, when the 10(ten) female candidates came for their first interview for the posts of PRO, they were surprised to see that only female candidates are being called and when they inquired about it and raised suspicion only after that the next day i.e. 8th November, 2016, five male candidates were called only as a formality. Out of the five, 2(two) male candidates were selected for the next interview just as an eyewash.
Ø Attached herewith is the newspaper clipping of Highland post-dated Shillong the 24thJanuary, 2017 under the heading…………
“Meghalaya Governor accused of ‘molesting’ job candidate.”
The above information are true and are not baseless. We the Raj Bhavan Staff fully support the news.
The activities of the Governor are known among the political and bureaucratic circles in Shillong apart from the media.
We expect the Hon’ble Prime Minister to take action and remove the incumbent Governor of Meghalaya and restore the dignity of Raj Bhavan, Shillong, Meghalaya.
Yours sincerely,
Staff of Raj Bhavan, Meghalaya
Shillong
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