Malegaon blast case: Shiv Sena stages protest against Prithviraj Chavan's 'Sanatan terrorism' remark
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Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
J&K Governor who oversaw Article 370 abrogation, Satya Pal Malik became vocal BJP critic in his last years
A former BJP leader from western Uttar Pradesh's Jat belt who started his political journey in socialist circles, Satya Pal Malik was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir when the Centre abrogated Article 370 and scrapped its special Constitutional status on August 5, 2019. Exactly six years since that day, Malik passed away in New Delhi on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. He was 79. In the last few years, Malik had been publicly critical of the Narendra Modi government, making statements ranging from the allegation that the Centre had asked him to keep quiet on the lapses that led to the Pulwama attack in 2019 to corruption in Goa, where he was the Governor after his J&K stint. This May, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Malik in an alleged case of corruption in the Kiru hydel project in Kashmir. Ironically, it was the veteran leader himself who had publicly spoken of the alleged corruption in the project in 2021 while he was serving as Meghalaya Governor. The statement had left the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre red-faced as he alleged the involvement of an RSS leader. His critics had dismissed all these statements, claiming he wanted to resurrect his political career in Uttar Pradesh. 'Saddened by the passing away of Shri Satyapal Malik Ji. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this hour of grief. Om Shanti,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. Born on July 24, 1946, in Hisawada village in UP's Baghpat district, Malik started as a student union leader in Meerut in 1968-69. 'In the late 1960s, he was president of the student union of Meerut College. This was the time of anti-Congressism and the 'Angrezi Hatao (remove English)' movement in UP. He started as a follower of (Ram Manohar) Lohia ji and joined the socialist youth organisation, Yuvjan Sabha,' JD (U) leader KC Tyagi, who knew Malik for 50 years, told The Indian Express. Tyagi recalled that Malik was always a straight talker and a good orator. Malik won the Baghpat Assembly seat in 1974 as a nominee of Chaudhary Charan Singh's Bharatiya Kranti Dal. He later joined the Bharatiya Lok Dal under Charan Singh and became its general secretary. During the Emergency, Tyagi recalled, Malik and he were in Meerut jail. In 1980, Malik entered the Rajya Sabha on a Lok Dal ticket. By 1984, he had moved to the Congress, which sent him to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. The following year, in the wake of the Bofors scam, he resigned from the Congress. Malik joined V P Singh and two years later won the Lok Sabha election from Aligarh as a Janata Dal candidate. In 1990, he briefly served as the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism. Malik briefly joined the Samajwadi Party before moving to the BJP in 2004. He unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections, losing to Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh from Baghpat. In its first term, the Modi government appointed Malik head of a parliamentary team that looked into the Land Acquisition Bill. After the panel gave its recommendations against the Bill, the government put it in cold storage. Run as Governor In October 2017, the government appointed Malik as the Bihar Governor, but transferred him to J&K just over a year later. With that, he became the first politician appointed to the post since militancy began in Kashmir. His tenure was a controversial one. First came 'faxgate'. In November 2018, when Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti staked claim to form the government with the support of the National Conference and the Congress and sent a fax to the Raj Bhavan, it went unacknowledged. A representation by People's Conference leader Sajad Lone also went unanswered. Malik dissolved the Assembly that evening, citing the 'impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with competing ideologies', the 'fragile' security situation, and reports of horse-trading. Later, he said history would have remembered him as a 'dishonest man' had he allowed Lone to form the government. 'So, I ended the matter once and for all. Those who abuse me will continue to do so, but I am convinced I did the right thing,' he said. Months after the Assembly's dissolution, J&K's special Constitutional status was revoked and it was made a Union Territory. Just two months after that, Malik was moved out to Goa. This is when his ties with the BJP started souring, and the sense of unhappiness only strengthened when he was shifted to Meghalaya. In March 2020, at a public meeting in Baghpat, Malik said J&K Governors largely just drank and played golf. 'The Governor has no work,' he said. Outspoken by nature, he ruffled feathers in Goa, too, criticising the Pramod Sawant government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In October 2021, he told the 'India Today' news channel that the government had kept him in the dark about its outbreak. He also alleged large-scale corruption in the Sawant government, saying he had informed PM Modi about it, and was moved because he raised this matter. Malik was in Meghalaya when he levelled the corruption allegations about the hydel project in Kashmir. 'Two files came before me in Jammu and Kashmir. One of them pertained to Ambani and another to a senior RSS functionary. One of the secretaries told me these are fraud files, but he also said you can get Rs 150 crore each in the two deals. I rejected the offer, saying, 'I have come with five kurtas and will go with them,'' he said. The speech created an uproar, and J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered a CBI enquiry into the matter. The CBI subsequently registered two FIRs, conducted multiple searches, and questioned several people, including Malik. Malik was also openly critical of the way the Centre handled the farmers' protests against three farm laws, which were subsequently repealed. He told The Indian Express in February 2021 that farmers should be engaged and not 'sent back insulted'. In January 2022, he targeted the PM in a speech in Dadri in western UP, saying he fought with Modi over the farmers' demands during a meeting. 'He was very arrogant. When I told him that 500 of our own (farmers) had died… he said, 'Did they die for me?'' he was heard saying in a video clip from the function.
India Today
27 minutes ago
- India Today
Telangana MP writes to Union Minister JP Nadda over urea shortage in Kharif season
Congress leader and Bhongir MP Chamal Kiran Kumar Reddy has written to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers JP Nadda, raising alarm over a significant shortfall in the supply of urea to Telangana during the ongoing Kharif his letter, Reddy pointed out that while the state's total urea allocation for the season stands at 9.80 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), only 4.36 LMT had been supplied as of July 31, falling short by 2.24 LMT against the 6.60 LMT expected for the April–July situation is expected to worsen in August, with the MP noting that although the actual requirement for the month is nearly 3.50 LMT, only 1.70 LMT has been allocated. This mismatch between requirement and supply is causing severe distress among farmers, especially those cultivating key crops like cotton, maize, and paddy. Highlighting the urgency, Reddy recalled that Telangana Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy had already flagged the issue with Minister Nadda, underlining the impact on farmers during the peak agricultural season. The MP said farmers across the state are anxiously awaiting urea to meet their crop also noted that the problem is not limited to Telangana, with farmers in neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka reportedly facing similar issues due to the non-supply of allocated the situation 'critical,' Reddy urged the Union Minister to ensure that the Centre delivers the full allocation to Telangana as per the February 17, 2025, fertilizer allocation letter, to address the real-time demands of the farming community.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Telangana
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Assam: Amid eviction drives, vigilante groups spread in search of suspected illegal Bangladeshi immigrants
Guwahati: With the Assam government unleashing a series of eviction drives, vigilantes' groups have spread across Upper Assam in search of suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. These groups are checking if their respective areas have suspected immigrants. In the last four and half year's series of eviction drives were launched by the BJP led government. However recently there have been back-to-back eviction drives evicting as many 50,000 families. There is growing concern that evicted people might shift to new locations in the area itself. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program This has triggered a vigilante group going to trace foreigners and raising concern among a section of people as these groups took to themselves the work of the government and law enforcement. Organisations including Veer Lachit Sena Assam, Jatiyo Sangrami Sena Asom, Ahom Jatiyo Ganamancha, Sangrami Yuva Chatra Parishad, Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad, Anusuchit Jati Chatra Santha, and Jatiyo Sangrami Mahila Parishad are carrying out the vigilante move. In some areas these groups are moving door to door. The vigilante group had extended full support to the state government's ongoing eviction drives against encroachers on government land. The movement of labourers from Lower Assam to Upper Assam areas are traced by the groups. Live Events Leader of the Opposition and Congress MLA Debabrata Saikia accused the BJP of communalising the issue for political gain. He claimed that the eviction drives are targeting even indigenous people and that terms like "suspected foreigners" are being misused to harass minorities. "In the name of evicting illegal immigrants, they are targeting poor Indian citizens from minority communities. This is nothing but a diversionary tactic to hide governance failures," Saikia said. The Congress challenged the BJP to release data on how many illegal immigrants have actually been deported over the past nine years. "Instead of real action, the government is creating a climate of fear and communal tension," he added. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the people not to provide shelter to the evicted people, saying the government wants them to go back to their original place. Sarma while talking to media persons on Monday said, 'People have become aware, and we wish that people do not provide shelter to such evicted people for this will vitiate the atmosphere. These evicted people must go back to the place from where they came, we do not have a problem with that.' He added, 'If people co-operate the way they are doing will be able to do a lot of work and provide security to the race.' Assam Accord inked after six yearlong foreigners' movement (1979-1985) provides that foreigners who entered the state after the cut-off date of March 24, 1971, irrespective of their religious affiliation must be deported.
