It is not always that a Governor affiliated to the ruling dispensation speaks against the government. So when Satya Pal Malik, then Meghalaya Governor, chose to unequivocally support the farmers’ agitation over the now-repealed farm laws in 2021, his remarks not just left the Modi government red-faced but also made national headlines.
Dragging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah into the controversy, Mr. Malik, while speaking at a function at Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh in March 2021, said he urged the two leaders not to use force against the farmers and not send them back “empty handed”. His assertion in support of the agitation made him a darling of the farmer unions and the khaps in Haryana. Mr. Malik sharpened his attacks in the following months, even calling Mr. Modi “arrogant” at a function in Haryana.
Mr. Malik, a three-time MP, fired a fresh salvo at Mr. Modi in an interview to The Wire earlier this month, targeting the Prime Minister over the Pulwama terror attack, the handling of the Kashmir issue and his stance on corruption.
