President Draupadi Murmu’s visit to West Bengal on Saturday became a political flashpoint as she rebuked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly violating protocol, expressed disappointment over the change of venue and questioned the development of tribals in the state, in a rare rebuke to a government elected by the constitutional president.
Her remarks sparked a bitter confrontation, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Trinamool Congress of “crossing all limits” and insulting the President, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the BJP was using the country’s highest office to discredit the country and questioned the President’s “silence” over alleged atrocities against tribals in BJP-ruled states.
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Addressing the 9th International Santal Congress at Gosinpur near Siliguri, Murmu said: “When I came here, I realized that someone was not willing to hold this meeting. It seems that some do not want the Santals to come forward, learn and unite.”
The event was originally scheduled to be held in Bidhannagar at Vansidwa Building, about 25 km away. Murmu also said that Banerjee did not attend the conference, even though the matter was resolved much earlier. “Generally, it is observed that when the President comes, the Prime Minister and other ministers remain present. But the Prime Minister did not come. Even I am a daughter of Bengal. I am not allowed to visit Bengal. Mamata Didi is like my younger sister,” the President said. “Maybe she’s upset with me, that’s why the program has been held so far.”
The conference was organized by the International Santal Council, a private organization.
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The Santals are one of the largest tribal communities in eastern India, concentrated mainly in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Assam. “I don’t think the Santals and Adivasis in this area are seeing any development,” said Murmu, India’s first tribal chief in Gosainpur.
People with knowledge of the matter said the venue was changed due to safety protocols. After the conclusion of the conference, Murmu visited Fansidoa field to plant a sapling.
The president said: “It would have been better if the program had been held in this place. It is a huge area. I don’t know what the administration’s opinion is. They mentioned that this area is crowded, but I came here easily.”
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Chief Minister Banerjee, who is staging a protest sit-in in Kolkata over the deletion of names during the controversial SIR exercise, rejected the allegations and said Murmu was pushing the BJP’s agenda forward.
“We respect the President…but even the President has been sent to sell politics and the BJP’s agenda. You have fallen into the BJP’s trap. Do we have no other job than receiving guests regularly and accompanying them? If you come once a year, I will receive you. But if you come 50 times a year, how can I give you so much time?” She said.
Banerjee said the President did not highlight the plight of tribals in NDA-ruled states and accused them of playing politics at the behest of the BJP.
“You did not say a single word when tribals in Manipur were being tortured. Did the BJP ask you? Why did you not protest when there were atrocities against tribals in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh? Many tribal voters were removed from the electoral roll. You did not utter a single word about SIR. Do not play politics at the time of elections on BJP’s instructions,” she said.
“I am doing a demonstration for the people on SIR, how can I attend your programme? You are the priority of the BJP, the people are my priority,” Banerjee added.
Reacting to the change of venue, Mamata said: “We didn’t even know about it. I don’t know who organized it, who attended it or who financed it.”
She added in a post on
Soon after Murmu’s comments, the Prime Minister and several Union ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, targeted the state government heading towards elections.
Describing the state government’s actions as “shameful and unprecedented”, Modi said: “The pain and suffering expressed by Rashtrapati Ji, who herself hails from a tribal community, has caused immense grief in the minds of the people of India. The TMC government in West Bengal has truly crossed all limits. Their administration is responsible for this insult to the President.”
Modi added that the TMC government deals with Santal culture “casually”. “The office of the President is above politics and the sanctity of that office must always be respected. One hopes that a better sense will prevail between the West Bengal government and the TMC,” he posted on X.
