New Delhi: Around 100 employees of the Meghalaya Raj Bhavan have written a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and Chief Minister accusing Governor V Shanmughanathan of turning the prestigious office into a “Ladies Club”.
The letter alleges that the Governor’s “activities” have 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”.
“From the time he has taken over, the employees are going through severe humiliation, mental stress and torture,” says the letter, which lists 11 allegations against the Governor.
The letter written by the Raj Bhavan staff to the Prime Minister, President and Meghalaya Chief Minister. (News18)
The letter written by the Raj Bhavan staff to the Prime Minister, President and Meghalaya Chief Minister. (News18)
The letter written by the Raj Bhavan staff to the Prime Minister, President and Meghalaya Chief Minister. (News18)
The letter written by the Raj Bhavan staff to the Prime Minister, President and Meghalaya Chief Minister. (News18)
The letter written by the Raj Bhavan staff to the Prime Minister, President and Meghalaya Chief Minister. (News18)
The Governor’s office didn’t respond to News18’s attempts to contact him regarding the letter. When the news was first published in The Hill Times, the Raj Bhavan had issued strong denial and said “the dignity of the office was hurt”.
The letter says that the Governor has “appointed two public relations officers, a cook and a nurse on night duty, all of whom are women”. The staff alleged that the Governor “selected only girls” to work for him and shifted the male official private secretary to his secretariat.
After the news was published in a local newspaper, there has been a series of protests across the capital town of Shillong. A letter has also been written by the ‘Citizens of Meghalaya’ to the President, appealing him to intervene into the matter and till such time that the investigation is complete the Governor should step down.
The letter written by Citizens of Meghalaya to the President. (News18)
The NDA Government appointed Shanmughanathan as Meghalaya Governor in 2015.
The employees have written that the “Governor insulted, humiliated and psychologically tortured officers and staffs of Raj Bhawan” and alleged that one of them suffered a brain stroke during office hours and later lost his life on November 3, 2016.
This is not for the first time that the high and mighty of the state have come under scanner. Militant-turned-MLA Julius Dorphang was recently arrested for being involved in a rape case involving a 14-year-old and the scene of crime was a guest house owned by the family of the state Home Minister.