Satya Pal Malik claimed that she had spoken with PM Modi and Amit Shah about the matter (Archive)
Reflexes
- Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik supported farmers’ protests today
- He also predicted the loss of support for the BJP in some states.
- farmers should not be sent back empty-handed, he added.
New Delhi:
Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik today supported farmers’ protests against three farm laws and criticized the ruling BJP in a series of provocative comments. Malik also predicted the loss of support for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana due to the four-month turmoil outside Delhi’s borders.
“Even when a dog dies, one feels condolences, but 250 farmers have died, but no one expressed their condolences,” the governor said in an interview with NDTV.
“If this movement continues like this, in the long term, BJP will lose in western UP, Rajasthan and Haryana,” he said.
Malik claimed that he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah about the protest. “Farmers should not be sent back empty-handed. The government should start talks with them soon,” he said.
When asked if he was concerned about his controversial remarks as governor, Malik was defiant. “If the government thinks I am hurting them, I will step aside. I will speak up even if I am not a governor,” he said.
“I cannot bear to see the state of these farmers. The BJP leaders cannot leave their villages because the people are beating up the MLA. Those who want to harm the government are the ones who do not want a resolution. My statements will not hurt. the festival, rather the opposite, since the farmers will feel that someone is speaking for them “.
Malik, familiar with the controversies, was governor of Jammu and Kashmir when its special status was removed in August 2019 and it became two Union territories. He was transferred to Goa shortly after. Last August, he was transferred again, this time to Meghalaya, amid differences with the BJP-led government in Goa.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November against the laws the center enacted last year, presenting them as long-term reforms that would help improve farm incomes. Farmers, however, want the laws removed, saying they will consume their livelihood and take away the protection of guaranteed prices for their produce.
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