‘Embarrassed’ Tiwari mulling vacating Raj Bhavan

Hyderabad, Dec 26: Stung by the ‘sex scam’, octogenarian Mr N D Tiwari is likely to step down as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.Sources in the Raj Bhavan on Saturday hinted at this. “Mr Tiwari is deeply hurt at the propaganda machinery and is thus mulling over his resignation as the constitutional head of the State,” the sources observed. On Friday, a private news channel aired titillating clippings in which the 85-year-old Mr Tiwari is purported to have been involved in a sex scandal.

The news channel claimed to have conducted a sting operation in the Raj Bhavan and has taken pictures with the Governor allegedly found nude with some teenage girls sent from States like Uttarakhand on a request from a senior Raj Bhavan Official.No doubt, the issue has created a sensation in the State and has shaken the powers even in New Delhi. The telecast of the clippings were later stopped under direction from the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The Raj Bhavan too, late on Friday dismissed all that has been shown on the news channel as trash.On Saturday all the newspapers, both national and vernacular dailies, published the story on their front pages and some major dailies have even led their Saturday’s editions with the alleged sex scandal of Tiwari.Mr Tiwari, a highly sensitive leader, has suffered mental agony with the goings-on.

And hence, he has decided, in principle, to quit the constitutional post, the sources observed.When asked who will replace Mr Tiwari in the event of his deciding to quit, official circles here said that Karnataka Governor will be given the additional charge till alternative arrangements are made.Meanwhile, demonstrations by women's groups demanding the resignation of Mr Tiwari continued for the second day on Saturday.The women activists were stopped by the police when they attempted to march to the Raj Bhavan. On being blocked, the women squatted on the busy Khairtabad Crossroads, leading to traffic being jammed for some time. The police had to take the group of activists into custody to restore orderly flow of traffic.Leader of Opposition, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu and senior Congress leader K Keshava Rao have demanded that the Governor be sacked.