Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik has once again displayed his desi outspokenness which may ruffle the feathers of the ruling dispensation.
Satya Pal Malik (born 24 July 1946) was also the Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019, and it was during his tenure that the constitutional decision to abrogate Article 370, which gave special status to J&K, was taken on 5 August 2019. However, soon after he was transferred to Goa as Governor. Though within eight months’ time, he was shifted to Meghalaya as Governor.
Ever since, on more than one occasion Satya Pal Malik has chosen not to restrain himself in speaking his mind even if it contained the references which went against the interest of the ruling party.
In one more incident at 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).”
Malik has attacked the Central government multiple times in the recent past. In November, speaking in Jaipur, he said that the Centre will have to eventually concede to the farmers’ demands. He was one of the rare politicians form the ruling party fold to come out openly and defend the farmers’ perspective , when whole of government machinery and friendly media were hell bent on proving the agitating farmers misguided lot or anti-nationals.
