Kolkata/New Delhi
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday expressed strong displeasure over the sudden change of venue and lack of arrangements at the ninth International Santal Conference in north Bengal, while also questioning the absence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other ministers during her visit.
Addressing the gathering at Gosainpur near Bagdogra airport, Murmu pointed to the large number of empty seats and said she was surprised by the low attendance. “I don’t think an international Santal conference is being held here. Seeing the vacant audience, I doubt the Santal community gets any government benefits,” she said.
The programme was originally scheduled to take place at a large field in Bidhannagar in Siliguri but was later shifted by the administration to Gosainpur citing security and logistical reasons. After the event, Murmu visited the Bidhannagar ground and questioned the decision. “They said this place did not have adequate space for the programme. But when I came here, I found that around five lakh people could be accommodated here,” she said.
The President also suggested that tribal attendees may have been prevented from reaching the venue. “I can see from here many Santals are moving away. I think someone is stopping them… People don’t want Santals to be united, Santals to be educated, Santals to be strengthened,” she said.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s absence, Murmu said she was surprised that no senior state leader came to receive her. “Mamata Banerjee is like my younger sister. I am also a daughter of Bengal. I do not know whether she is upset with me. But I have no grievance against her,” she said.
Banerjee, however, remained in Kolkata where she continued her sit-in protest at Esplanade against what the Trinamool Congress called “arbitrary deletions” of names from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
The President said she understood that the State’s Governor had recently been transferred and therefore could not be present. “The Governor has been transferred and that is why he could not come. The date for the programme was fixed earlier, but no issue,” she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a video of some of Murmu’s remarks on X and said: “This is shameful and unprecedented. Everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of tribal communities is disheartened. The pain and anguish expressed by Rashtrapati Ji, who herself hails from a tribal community, has caused immense sadness in the minds of the people of India. The TMC Government of West Bengal has truly crossed all limits.
“Their administration is responsible for this insult to the President. It is equally unfortunate that a subject as important as Santal culture is treated so casually by the West Bengal Government. The office of the President is above politics and the sanctity of this office should always be respected. One hopes better sense prevails among the West Bengal Government and TMC.”
But organisers of the event also alleged administrative hurdles. The conference’s main organiser Naresh Murmu said, “Police changed the venue of this programme four times. They did not even arrange a separate washroom for the President. Now they are stopping our people from entering the venue saying they do not have security passes, but no passes were issued.”
Opposition leaders strongly criticised the state government over the incident. Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “It is an insult to the head of the country. This breach took place with full knowledge of the Chief Minister. Strict action should be taken against officials responsible.”
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also expressed concern, saying, “The President is the head of the country. She holds the top post. What happened is unbecoming to the dignity of that office.”
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya alleged that the episode reflected administrative failure in the state. In a post on X, he wrote, “When a state government begins to disregard the dignity of the office of the President of India, it reflects not just administrative failure but a breakdown of constitutional propriety.”
Banerjee reacted strongly to the President’s remarks, saying, “I would like to humbly request the President not to make statements that don’t speak well of your post. You spoke about one community today, you didn’t speak about the rest of the communities here in Bengal. You know how to play politics. I request my MPs to take an appointment from Rashtrapati Bhawan and submit a memorandum about all the work done for the development of ST/SC communities here.”.
“Don’t play politics on the advice of the BJP ahead of polls. Do you know how many tribals were deleted from the voter lists here? Do you keep that information?” she retorted even as her party listed a range of steps taken by the State government to ensure the welfare of tribals.
Initially, TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty defended Banerjee’s absence and the circumstances surrounding the event. “The whole situation was created because of the Election Commission of India. Our Chief Minister is now fighting for the people’s rights. We know our President is a very good human being and she would understand the compulsion of Mamata Banerjee,” the TMC spokesperson said.
The controversy surrounding the event has now added another flashpoint to the already tense political atmosphere in West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition parties remain locked in frequent confrontations over governance, electoral issues and administrative decisions.
