Mamata Banerjee denies insult to President Droupadi Murmu, PM Modi attacks TMC

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

• Mamata Banerjee denies protocol breach at President Murmu's event
• Modi: TMC insulted President Murmu and tribal community
• Modi announces over 3 crore women have become Lakhpati Didi

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday asserted that there was no breach of protocol during President Droupadi Murmu’s programme in Siliguri and said any mismanagement at the event was the responsibility of private organisers and the Airports Authority of India, which provided the venue.

Speaking from a sit-in platform in central Kolkata, Banerjee held up an enlarged photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi seated at an event with senior BJP leader L. K. Advani while the President was standing beside them.

“The picture shows that the PM is seated when the President is standing. We never do that. It is the BJP which carries the culture of insulting the President, not us,” she claimed while displaying the photograph as “evidence”. “We have full respect for the chair of the President and the Constitution of India, which we consider our mother; do not blame us,” Banerjee said.

Maintaining that the state government was not aware of the details of the President’s programme and was not taken into confidence by the private organisers, Banerjee said the responsibility for alleged issues such as garbage, green room malfunction and lack of women’s toilets lay with the event managers and the Airports Authority of India, on whose land the function was held. “We did not pick the venue, you did,” she said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi stepped up his attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over the treatment of President Murmu, saying the “enlightened people” of the state would never forgive the party for “insulting” a woman tribal leader and the President of the country.

“Today, as the nation celebrates International Women's Day, it is deeply concerning that just yesterday, the TMC government in West Bengal demonstrated a grave insult towards the honourable President of India, Draupadi Murmu,” Modi said in New Delhi after inaugurating two new corridors of the Delhi Metro and other projects.

His remarks came after President Murmu expressed displeasure over the change of venue of a conference of the Santal tribal community in West Bengal on Saturday and the absence of Banerjee and her ministers during her visit.

Soon after, Banerjee accused the President of speaking “on the advice of the BJP” and questioned her silence on alleged atrocities against tribals in states such as Manipur and Chhattisgarh. The BJP criticised the TMC government for “insulting” the President, while Modi called it “shameful and unprecedented” and accused the party of crossing all limits.

The controversy has further heightened the political temperature in the poll-bound state, where the BJP hopes to end Banerjee’s 15-year rule.

On Sunday, Modi said the TMC government’s actions not only resulted in mismanagement of the tribal community event but also constituted an affront to the President, the Constitution and democratic traditions.

“President Murmu ji visited Bengal to attend a significant celebration honouring the Santal tribal tradition. However, the TMC chose to boycott this sacred and important event, which holds great meaning for both the President and the tribal community,” he said.

He added that the President herself comes from a tribal background and has shown deep concern for the Santal community.

Modi said the “enlightened” people of West Bengal would never forgive the TMC “for insulting a woman, for insulting a tribal, and for insulting the honourable President of the country”.

“The country will not forgive either, the tribal society of the country will never forgive either, and the women's power of the country will never forgive either,” he said.

During the event, the prime minister also inaugurated two new Delhi Metro corridors and laid the foundation stone for three more metro lines, providing connectivity to several locations in the capital. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 15,200 crore under the central government’s General Pool Residential Accommodation redevelopment plan, with the total cost of all projects around Rs 33,500 crore.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Modi announced that more than 3 crore women have now become “Lakhpati Didi”.

“A few years ago, our government committed to empowering 3 crore women to become ‘Lakhpati Didi’, whose annual household income is more than Rs 1 lakh. At the time, many doubted our resolve and dismissed it as a political move. However, I am proud to announce that we have fulfilled our promise — more than 3 crore women have now achieved the milestone of becoming Lakhpati Didi,” he said.

Modi also criticised the previous Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, calling it an “AAPda (disaster) government” and alleging it had halted development work in the national capital for the past decade. “Now, our government is operating in mission mode to address the challenges facing Delhi. With the construction of the Peripheral Expressway, lakhs of vehicles no longer need to enter the city. Our government is also undertaking large-scale initiatives to clean the Yamuna River,” he said.