Addressing a social function at Dadri in Haryana, Malik said, “When I met PM Modi on the farmers’ issue, I fought with him within 5 minutes. He was very arrogant. When I said that 500 farmers have died, he asked ‘Did they die for me?’. I said that yes, you are king because of them. He told me to meet Amit Shah,” said Malik.

Later, when reporters asked about the government’s decision to repeal the farm laws and the farmer’s pending demands, he said, “What more could the PM have said other than what he said… We (farmers) should get decisions done in our favour. We should take their help to get legal guarantee for MSP instead of doing something that spoils everything.”

Malik has questioned and criticized the Union government multiple times in the recent past over the farm laws. In November, when speaking in Jaipur, he had said the Centre will have to concede to the farmers’ demands eventually.

Malik also said, “If the government thinks that this agitation has ended, it has not… The agitation has only been suspended. If injustice or atrocity is committed on farmers, then it will start again. I will be with them (farmers) whatever the situation.”

Malik had been encouraging the government to guarantee the MSP that the protesting farmers has been calling for and to resolve the issue. The farmers will compromise for no less, so why is the government still hesitating, he says.

“Warning that a prolonged protest may end in political assassinations, he said, “If the protest continues like this. then in the long term, BJP will lose out in western UP, Rajasthan and Haryana”. Lamenting that he could not bear to see the plight of the farmers, he said that he was unafraid to speak his mind. “If the government thinks I am harming them then I will step aside,” he added.

While apprehensive that he might get a call from Delhi every time he speaks about the farmers’ protests, he stated that a Governor cannot be removed although“well-wishers” are waiting for him to say something for him to be removed.

Note: Satya Pal Malik is an Indian politician serving as the 21st and current Governor of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India. Shri Malik, 75, has been a vocal critic of the BJP over farmers’ issues. A video that shows him talking about his recent meeting with the Prime Minister was widely shared on social media.