Satyapal Malik, the Meghalaya governor, supported the farmers’ protest and criticised the BJP in a series of provocative comments on Wednesday. Malik also predicts that the BJP might lose support in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana because of the four-month-old agitation outside Delhi's borders, reports NDTV.

In an interview with NDTV, the governor said, “Even when a dog dies it is condoled but 250 farmers have died, yet no one expressed condolences.”

"If this movement continues like this then in the long term, BJP will lose out in western UP, Rajasthan and Haryana," he said.

Malik claimed he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the protest. "The farmers should not be sent back empty-handed. The government should open talks with them soon," he remarked.

When asked whether he was worried at all about his controversial statements as governor, Malik was defiant. "If the government thinks I am harming them then I will step aside. I will speak even if I am not a Governor," he said.

"I cannot bear to see the state of these farmers. BJP leaders are unable to leave their villages as people are beating MLAs. Those who want to harm the government, they are the ones who do not want a resolution. My statements will not harm the party - rather the opposite as the farmers will feel that someone is speaking up for them."

Malik, who joined the BJP in 2004 after stints in the socialist camp and the Congress, was picked as governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2018, a move indicative of his proximity to Modi and Shah.

It was during his stint as governor that the Centre decided to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Later, he was transferred to Goa and then to Meghalaya.