Shillong, May 20: Former BJP member V. Shanmuganathan, who took over as Meghalaya governor here today, disagreed with the "rubber stamp" tag that is usually associated with the office, and said as a governor he has a "role to play".

Shanmuganathan, who is from Tamil Nadu, shared this view during a brief interaction with reporters at Raj Bhavan here after he was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh.

Members of the Meghalaya council of ministers, government officials, representatives of political parties and other dignitaries attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan here.

Shanmuganathan, who had served in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for several years, said as governor, he would work for complete and total development of the state.

Born on November 21, 1949, Shanmuganathan was an active member of the BJP and had held the post of additional secretary, BJP parliamentary party. He was also in-charge of the defence, research and documentation and overseas friends of BJP cells.

"I am a new person to this state. I have to know the culture and understand the people and society. I want to be with everyone and near their hearts. I love people and I want to be friendly with everyone. People say Meghalaya is a beautiful state and I want to see the beauty and greatness of this state," he said.

Asked for his comment on "being a BJP man, becoming governor in a Congress-ruled state", Shanmuganathan said, "The governor is common to every citizen and he does not belong to any political party."

A post-graduate and an MPhil in political science, Shanmuganathan has written three books relating to culture and social aspects in Tamil.

Shanmuganathan took charge as the full-fledged governor of Meghalaya in place of Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who was given additional charge since January 6 this year.

In Tripura, the newly appointed governor Tathagata Roy - the first Bengali-speaking governor of the state - was sworn-in in Raj Bhavan this afternoon by Chief Justice of Tripura High Court, Deepak Kumar Gupta.

Chief minister Manik Sarkar, accompanied by his senior cabinet colleagues and ADC's newly appointed chief executive member Radha Charan Debbarma and other senior CPM leaders, including Deputy Speaker Pabitra Kar, and all senior officials attended the ceremony.

Interacting with the media after the swearing-in ceremony and tea party, Roy reiterated his resolve to keep his functioning within the parameters set by the Constitution.

Additional reporting by Sekhar Datta in Agartala