President Ramnath Kovind on Tuesday appointed Satyal Pal Malik as the governor of Meghalaya. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who is the governor of Maharashtra, has been given the additional charge of Goa.
Malik was appointed as Goa governor in October 2019. He earlier served as the governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir reorganisation. Malik was at the helm when Jammu & Kashmir was divested of its special status in August 2019 and split into two union territories.
Malik, who began his political career in 1965, was first elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Lok Dal member in 1980. He was again elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Congress candidate in 1986. Malik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected as a Lok Sabha member in 2005.
During his tenure in Jammu & Kashmir, Malik triggered a controversy when he claimed he had not received a letter from political parties staking claim to form the government in the former state after the BJP-People’s Democratic Party coalition collapsed in June 2018. He later said the fax machine in Raj Bhavan was not working.
In Goa too, he vetoed the government’s proposal to construct a new Raj Bhavan and said the construction should be put off till the state’s financial condition improves.
Run-ins with CM Sawant culminates in transfer of Goa Governor
PANAJI: Goa Governor Satya Pal Malik has been transferred as the Governor of Meghalaya, less than a year into his tenure as the Governor of Goa, a move that comes on the back of frequent run-ins with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
The charge of Goa has been given to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who will hold additional charge of Goa.
Satya Pal Malik was sworn in as Goa Governor on November 4 last year in what was thought to be a more relaxed posting from the strenuous tenure as the final Governor of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. As J&K Governor, Malik oversaw the transition which included the revocation of article 370, as well as the splitting of the state into two union territories.
However, Malik and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant soon began to express differences of opinion.
In mid-July Malik summoned chief minister Pramod Sawant to discuss the shortfalls in his government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis and when Pramod sought the downplay the meeting while addressing the press, the Governor accused Sawant of putting words in his mouth.
“I have now told them to come together and work and not criticize each other... There needs to be synergy among the ministers and among the officers. It’s not there (to the extent it should be), there needs to be more especially during a crisis,” Malik had said.
“It is definitely wrong to say that I have blamed the press. The issue of the press (coverage) didn’t come (during the meeting). I have definitely not criticized the press. The press is our strength, through which we get feedback and only then can we go forward. The CM has said that I have said this, but I haven’t. He shouldn’t have said that. I definitely didn’t say that,” Malik had said.More recently when Sawant went ahead and announced the building of a new Raj Bhavan, Malik shot off a letter to him saying that “at a time when the state is battling Covid-19 and reeling under financial crises, the idea to construct a new Raj Bhavan is irrational and imprudent.”“Any new capital work would entail unnecessary additional financial burden on the state exchequer thereby exacerbating the economic distress of the state,” the Governor said.
Back in May, the Goa Governor was forced to clarify as being “in bad taste” news reports which he said “portrays differences and divergences between him and the Chief Minister in handling the crisis.”
The Governor’s criticism of the BJP led government gave opposition parties in the state a much needed filip and a handle to grab hold of the government.
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