Defends Modi, says he supported him
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 15: Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik has said that he will take the name when asked by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) on charges levelled by him that he was offered corruption during his stint as the Governor of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
He defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he supported him when he briefed him about corruption charges.
“When I told the Prime Minister about corruption, he supported me saying there can be no compromise on it,” Malik said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Hisar in Haryana.
He was asked about the CBI launching a probe last month into the allegation levelled by him that he was offered bribes to clear two files when he was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
When a reporter pointed out that now, all the files he had signed as the Jammu and Kashmir Governor will be under the CBI scanner, Malik said, “I have no problems with that.”
“The CBI has not contacted me, I have said what I had to say. If they ask me, I will tell, because I have nothing to hide,” he said to another related question.
Malik was the last Governor of Jammu and Kashmir before the erstwhile State was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – in August 2019.
Malik had named a leading Indian businessman and a senior RSS functionary in the corruption charges.
Malik said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections because of “backdoor support” by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Malik said he is not scared of losing his post for raising farmers’ issues.
“I am fundamentally a farmer. My political training happened under (former Prime Minister) Chaudhary Charan Singh. And he told me that if you have to leave anything for the farmers, leave, but fight for them and raise their voice,” he said.
Malik said he does not even have a house to live in after retirement.
“That is why I could fight with them (the Centre),” he said.
He also took exception to the propose export of wheat to other countries.
He added that the farmers’ agitation will be revived.
The Meghalaya Governor had earlier criticized the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the handling of the farmers’ agitation against three contentious Agriculture Laws.
He had also batted for a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Price on crops.
To a question, Malik said the terms of trade are not in favour of farmers in the country.
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