The 'rebellion' of Satya Pal Malik clearly points to the fact that he is seeing no future for himself in the Narendra Modi government. The Meghalaya governor is apparently the first governor, since Independence, who has rebelled against the same government he was appointed by.
But what might be the reason behind his attitude? He has not only lashed out against the Central government, he has taken on the RSS, which is the guiding force of the Narendra Modi government. The RSS does not intervene in the day-to-day business of the Central government. But anybody admonishing the RSS will be seen adversely by the BJP. Therefore, Malik is perceived to have chosen to take the warpath.
He was elected as an MP in 2014 on a BJP ticket and made a minister by the Modi government. But then suddenly in 2017, he was sent to Bihar as governor by the Modi government following Ram Nath Kovind’s appointment as president.
There was a perception in Bihar that Malik was interfering in the day-to-day business of Nitish Kumar’s government. According to sources, Malik is considered to be an 'active' governor even if the state in question has a government that is friendly with the Centre. Thus, Malik was sent to Odisha the next year.
The transfer to Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 was seen as a reward for Malik. The Odisha administration ruled out there was any rift between Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and him. Patnaik, a very-able administrator known to follow the rulebook, got along well with Malik.
But things took a new turn when Amit Shah took over as Union home minister in 2019. Malik opened a front against the Abdullah family in Srinagar, by criticising Omar Abdullah. However, sources say he was completely in the dark about the scrapping of Article 370.
“Even a day before the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was withdrawn and the state was bifurcated, Malik went to the press and declared that there were no plans of the Central government to modify Article 370,” said a leader close to the Meghalaya governor.
Some people told THE WEEK he expressed his dissatisfaction to the Union home minister about being kept in the dark despite being the governor.
With the rank of the full governorship degraded in Jammu and Kashmir, Malik had to be transferred to another state. And thus the popular Jat leader found his new office in coastal Goa. Goa is the place where the BJP formally announced Modi as its prime minister candidate in 2013. But Malik decided to raise the red flag in Goa when he raised the issue of corruption in mining involving powerful corporate houses. He also dragged the RSS into the mining issue.
Finally, he was sent to Meghalaya shortly after Tathagata Roy’s tenure ended. Though he kept mum early in his tenure, he opened his mind at Shillong. Malik quipped that he was more enamoured with picturesque Shillong than the beauty of Kashmir.
Malik confronted the Centre on the farm laws and went as far as saying he could foresee defeat of the BJP in the upcoming elections. His bitterness with Shah made him more outspoken. Shah, undoubtedly, is the prime man in the Central government after Modi and takes crucial decisions even in the absence of the prime minister. He and Modi are the only members of the cabinet committee on appointments despite the presence of senior ministers like Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari.
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So Malik knows that the tussle would be costly for him. The Meghalaya governorship is seen as a demotion for him that he could not digest. Many said he would come back to politics, but the BJP refused this. Another party had also tried to contact Malik to rejoin politics, sources said. His reaction to the invite remains unknown.
When THE WEEK contacted the Meghalaya Raj Bhavan, the governor said he would not speak for another week or two. Malik travelled to Jaipur, where his friends include former BJP chief minister and party heavyweight Vasundhara Raje. In Jaipur, Malik criticised the Modi government again.
It remains to be seen whether Malik would trouble the Modi government further or if he would be shown the door before he completes his term in 2022. In either case, Malik is making history.
