Amidst the growing spate of violence and anarchy witnessed during the ongoing ‘farmers’ protest, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik exhorted the Centre to meet the demands of the protesters, stating that BJP’s return to power will be unlikely if demands of farmers are not fulfilled.
Malik made the remarks on the sidelines of an event held in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district. He highlighted how the BJP leaders were unable to enter several villages in the election-bound Uttar Pradesh. “I am from Meerut. In my area, no BJP leader can enter any village. In Meerut, in Muzzafarnagar, in Baghpat, they can’t enter,” he said.
When asked if he supports farmers and would resign from the post he currently holds as a mark of solidarity with the farmers, the Meghalaya Governor said he is standing with the farmers and if need be, he would relinquish his post and extend his support to the farmers.
Malik says he has quarrelled with many leaders, including the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and others to convince them to accommodate the demands made by the demonstrators.
“Here, if the government legally guarantees MSP, then this will be resolved. The farmers can leave the issue of the three bills because the Supreme Court has put it on hold. There is only one thing, you are not even doing that. Why… without MSP nothing will happen,” said Malik.
On the question of whether he has any message for PM Modi, Malik he won’t say anything publicly but will convey his opinions personally to the Prime Minister. “Khaas taur se, Sikhon ke bare me ye log jante nahin hai…nihatte guruon ne puri Mughal samrat se ladai ladi hai. Toh unko tang nahin karna chahiye (They have no idea about Sikhs…Unarmed Sikh gurus fought with the Mughal emperor. So they should not be bothered),” said Malik.
Malik also proffered himself to mediate between the Centre and the farmers. “There is one thing, which will resolve this. You guarantee MSP, I will convince farmers that the three laws are on hold, leave it now,” said Malik, adding “They should have the guarantee of minimum support price. They will be ruined if it is not there. They won’t do any agreement less than that.”
This is not the first time that Malik has openly supported the demonstrations going on against the central farm laws for over a year now. Earlier this year, Malik defended the farmers saying they cannot be insulted and urged the government to iron out the differences.
Malik also expressed his views on the violence that stuck Lakhimpur Kheri village in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month. When asked if Union Minister Ajay Mishra should have resigned over the incident, Malik answered in the affirmative, saying that the resignation should have happened the day of the violence itself. He further added that Mishra does not deserve to be a minister.
‘When I was the governor, terrorists didn’t dare to enter within a radius of 50 kms of Srinagar’: Meghalaya Governor
Malik, who also served as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, also weighed in on the recent spate of civilian killings in the Union territory. He said when he was the governor of the erstwhile state, “terrorists didn’t dare to enter within a radius of 50 kilometres of Srinagar.”
During my tenure as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, no terrorists could enter within the 50-100 kms range of Srinagar. But now, terrorists are killing poor people in Srinagar. This is really saddening: Governor of Meghalaya Satya Pal Malik (17.10) pic.twitter.com/bDq6HO3rgh
— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2021
“When I was there, there was no stone pelting, no (terrorist) recruitment and nobody was dying. Terrorist didn’t dare to enter within a radius of 50 kilometres of Srinagar. Now they are openly killing inside the city,” said Malik. He declined to comment on the issue further, but said the killings were ‘extremely painful and saddening.’
