Hours after a video that showed the Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik making contradictory remarks went viral, he clarified in an interview to NDTV that Home Minister Amit Shah meant no disrespect to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The governor has been a vehement critic of the BJP over farmers’ issues. A video that has gone viral on social media showed him talking about his recent meeting with the Prime Minister. “When I recently went to meet the Prime Minister over the farmers’ issues, I picked up a fight within five minutes… I told him 500 people have died… He asked – ‘Have they died for me?'”
“I told him yes, since you are the king. Anyway, I ended up having a fight with him. He told me to meet Amit Shah and so I did,” he is heard saying in the clip.
Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge was quick to tweet the video with scathing comments: “Meghalaya’s Governor Sri Satya Pal Malik is on record saying PM was ‘arrogant’ on the issue of Farmers & HM Amit Shah called the PM as ‘mad’. Constitutional authorities speak about each other with such contempt! Narendra Modiji is this true?”
Malik, in the same video clip, further says – “When I met Amit Shah, he told me ‘Satya, he has lost his mind. You should be carefree and keep meeting us’.”
The comments created a huge uproar and the Meghalaya Governor, within hours, offered a clarification.
“The Prime Minister was not ready to listen… He tried to dismiss my concerns… and said ‘meet Amit Shah’. Amit Shah respects Modi ji a lot. He told me that people misguide the Prime Minister. ‘One day the PM will understand this (the farmers’ contention with the three laws)’, I was told. I want to clarify that Mr Shah did not say anything about the Prime Minister with ill intent. He only told me that my concerns will be understood,” he told NDTV.
In November, just days before farmers marked one year of their protest against three contentious laws, PM Modi apologised in an address to the nation, and said the three laws would be revoked.
