Tainted ND Tiwari bows to Sonia’s diktat, resigns

Amidst mounting pressure in the wake of his alleged involvement in a sex scandal, Andhra Pradesh governor ND Tiwari sent his resignation to President Pratibha Patil on Saturday, citing health reasons. Jharkhand governor Shankar Narayan, 77, has been given the additional responsibility of Andhra Pradesh.

Congress sources say it was party president Sonia Gandhi’s strong stand against Tiwari’s continuance in office following the embarrassing ‘expose’ that made the 86-year-old party veteran quit even before the state could send its report on the allegations to the Centre.

The Congress has welcomed Tiwari’s resignation.

“I think he has taken an appropriate decision keeping in view high standards of public life. We welcome it,” said Congress general secretary, Janardhan Dwivedi, adding, “I think he (Tiwari) does not want to hold on to office while it remains to be proved whether the video is true or false.”

Interestingly, President Pratibha Patil is scheduled to come to Hyderabad on Sunday on her southern sojourn. Tiwari was to receive her at the airport. “That was a major concern for the Centre too. The debate on removing Tiwari primarily revolved around the protocol to be followed during the president’s visit,” said a source tracking the developments.

Earlier in the day, the Centre had sought a detailed report from Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Ramakant Reddy about the allegations made against Tiwari by the Telugu TV channel ABN Andhra Jyothi which had broadcast the ‘expose’ on Friday. 

In the video, an old man alleged to be Tiwari is seen in bed with three naked women.
The video was taken off air following a high court injunction order, but the hour-long broadcast sparked protests by political parties including the BJP, TDP, CPI, CPM and women’s groups, who demanded that Tiwari be sacked. The Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP from AP, K Keshav Rao, too had demanded that Tiwari step down on moral grounds.

Even before Tiwari sent his resignation to President Patil, Congress sources in New Delhi had indicated that the party leadership was deliberating on the octogenarian leader’s replacement, given the highly volatile situation in the state, already embroiled in the Telangana issue.

“It is felt that given the widespread protests in various parts of Andhra over the Telengana issue, the state needs a more agile governor, as opposed to someone given the office more as a ‘retirement posting,’” said a senior Congress leader requesting anonymity.

In fact, for sometime now, there has been speculation about a new governor taking charge in AP primarily to handle the Telangana movement-related issues. Former law minister HR Bharadwaj and former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy were the two names that were doing the rounds in the corridors of the state secretariat.
Meanwhile, the TV channel ABN Andhra Jyothi has reiterated the veracity of the sex CDs it had received from one Radhika of Uttarakhand. “The CDs are absolutely perfect. We are confident of the contents of the CDs. We have no problems in defending ourselves even if there is a defamation case,” said V Radhakrishna, managing director of the media group.