"Farmers Won't Return Empty Handed, BJP Should...": Meghalaya Governor

"Nobody's father has made me Governor, will immediately step down from post if PM Modi asks," Satyapal Malik said.

I'll keep speaking up for farmers no matter what the consequences are, says Meghalaya Governor Satyapal Malik. He says the BJP has suffered heavy losses in Uttar Pradesh and other states because of the farmers' protests. "The government should listen to the farmers, they should understand that farmers won't return empty-handed," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. He pointed out that there hasn't been one word of condolence from the government even as hundreds of farmers have died on the borders of Delhi during the protest against farm laws. 

The Governor had recently attacked the Centre and the BJP over the farmers' issue and the Central Vista project. Appointed Governor - in Jammu and Kashmir and Goa, before being posted to Meghalaya - during the Narendra Modi term, Mr Malik has been taking swipes at the government.

Referring to critics who say that he is speaking against the Modi government even when they appointed him to the post of Governor, he says "nobody's father has made me Governor." He says that the Prime Minister has appointed him Governor and he'll immediately resign if PM Modi asks him to. He stresses that he will keep raising his voice for farmers no matter what the consequences are. "I am from a farmer's family. I have no greed for the Governor's post. When I first became Governor, I deliberately said that I won't continue in the post for long," he said, hinting that the Constitutional post wouldn't stop him from commenting on politics or criticising the government.