Meghalaya Guv Malik calls PM Modi ‘arrogant’

New Delhi, Jan 3: Meghalaya Governor Satyapal Malik has said he had a fight with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over farmers issue, and even accused Modi of being “arrogant”.
A video shared by Congress on its Twitter handle showed Malik speaking at an event in Charkhi Dadri of Haryana.
“When I met the PM on the farmers’ issue, I had a fight with him within minutes.
“He was very arrogant about it. I said 500 people died, he said have they died for me,” Malik said.
Sharing the video, the Congress said, “Vanity… cruelty… insensitivity.
“These are the features of PM Modi’s personality being mentioned by the BJP governor here. This is a matter of concern for a democracy.”
“There cannot be a bigger example of the Prime Minister’s anti-farmer mentality.
“BJP should come forward and explain, if the PM told Governor Satyapal Malik that the farmers have not died for him,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
“Farmers were dying on borders of Delhi and Modiji was trying to run the shop for some capitalists. Such arrogance, anti-farmer thinking and attitude that has come forth, is possibly for the first time since Independence,” Surjewala said.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge reacted to Malik’s statement and said, “Meghalaya’s Governor Satya Pal Malik is on record saying PM was ‘arrogant’ on the issue of Farmers…
Constitutional authorities speaking about each other with such contempt!  Narendra Modiji is this true?”
The comments come after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Center withdrew the controversial Farm Laws, following a surprise announcement by Prime Minister Modi on Guruparab in November 2021.
The laws were withdrawn on December 29, the first day of Winter Session of Parliament.

It may be noted that Governor Satya Pal Malik, a politician from Aligarh Uttar Pradesh, has  lately been a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he was shifted from J&K in Nov. 2019, where he is credited to take some public welfare steps like opening Governor House for public, reorganizing schools, colleges and universities in the state. Earlier as Governor of Bihar (Oct. 2017 to August 2018), he took steps to eradicate corruption in universities. He was appointed as Meghalaya Guv in October 2020, after  Goa.

As a former leader of UP’s Bhartiya Kisan Dal and Janata Dal,  Governor Malik has been open critic of Prime Minister Modi on Farm Laws and  may seek a political space on Farmers’ issues in north India, post his retirement from the gubernational post.