President Pratibha Patil accepts ND Tiwari's resignation

President Pratibha Patil today accepted the resignation of governor of Andhra Pradesh ND Tiwari and asked the Chattisgarh governor to discharge the duties till further arrangements are made.

"The president of India has accepted the resignation of Narayan Datt Tiwari as governor of Andhra Pradesh and has appointed ESL Narasimhan, governor of Chhattisgarh to discharge the functions of the governor of Andhra Pradesh in addition to his own duties, until regular arrangements for the office of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh are made," a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Eighty-six-year old Tiwari had tendered his resignation to the president yesterday in the wake of a raging controversy after a sting operation purportedly showed him in a compromising position with three women.

Tiwari, a former chief minister of undivided Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, sent his resignation to president Pratibha Patil on "health grounds".

The resignation came a day after Telugu television channel 'ABN Andhra Jyothi' aired a footage captured in a sting operation of an elderly man with three women in Raj Bhavan in a compromising position, which the channel said was of Tiwari.

The Raj Bhavan had denied it and promptly approached the high court to get a restraint order on the channel from telecasting the footage.