Taking his offensive against the Centre and the BJP leadership a step further, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik on Sunday said when he went to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue of farmers recently, he ended up fighting up with the PM, who was “very arrogant”.
Malik said when he told PM Modi that 500 farmers died (during the protest against the farm laws), the latter asked him “did they die for me?”
Addressing a social function at Dadri in Haryana, Malik said, “Main jab kisano ke mamle me Pradhan Mantri ji se milane gaya, to meri panch minute mein ladai ho gayi unse. Woh bahut ghamand mein the. Jab maine unse kaha, hamare 500 log mar gaye… to usne kaha, mere liye mare hain? (Maine) kaha aapke liye hi to mare the, jo aap raja bane huye ho… Mera jhagda ho gaya. Unhone kaha aab aap Amit Shah se mil lo. Main Amit Shah se mila… (When I went to meet the Prime Minister to discuss the farmer issue, I ended up fighting with him within five minutes. He was very arrogant. When I told him that 500 of our own (farmers) had died… he said, ‘Did they die for me?’ I told him yes, since you are the king. I ended up having an argument with him. He told me to meet Amit Shah and I did).”
His remarks come after the three controversial farm Acts were withdrawn by the centre in November 2021, days before one of the longest-standing protest by farmers on Delhi borders was to complete a year on November 26. The Centre has not only repealed the farm laws but has also agreed to consider other demands including the MSP.
Appointed governor — in Jammu and Kashmir and Goa, before being posted to Meghalaya — during Narendra Modi’s term as prime minister, Malik has been taking swipes at the government.
On his remark that he was not scared of being asked to step down from his post, Malik said, “I am always with farmers.”
Malik said the centre will have to work with honesty to withdraw cases registered against farmers during the agriculture laws protest and give a legal framework to MSP for crops.
“But if the government thinks the agitation has ended, it is not so. It has only been suspended. If there is injustice or if there are any excesses with farmers, then the stir will start again,” he said
