After a row broke out between the Centre and the West Bengal government regarding an event attended by President Droupadi Murmu in the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday reiterated that there was no breach of protocol, the Hindustan Times reported.
“The responsibility of mismanagement at the president’s programme in Bengal lies with private organisers and the Airports Authority of India,” the newspaper quoted Banerjee as saying. “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’s remarks came a day after Murmu criticised the Trinamool Congress government for allocating a smaller venue for an event she addressed in Darjeeling district on Saturday. The president also expressed displeasure that Banerjee and state ministers did not follow the conventions associated with a presidential visit.
Murmu was in West Bengal to participate in the ninth International Santal Conference, the venue of which was changed. The organisers of the event had preferred a field in Bidhannagar in the district, but the administration allegedly denied permission and the event was held at Gosainpur near Bagdogra in Siliguri.
After the event, Murmu travelled to Bidhannagar and spoke with residents without using a dais. She said the venue there would have been better suited for the conference.
Murmu also said that when the president visits a state, the chief minister and other ministers should attend the event. Banerjee was not present, she noted.
On Saturday, Banerjee was reportedly holding a protest in Kolkata against the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of the state’s electoral rolls.
Responding to Murmu’s remarks on Saturday, Banerjee said the conference had been organised by the International Santal Council, which had invited the president.
She added that after an advanced security liaison meeting, the district administration had informed the President’s Secretariat that the organisers appeared inadequately prepared for the event. The concern was also conveyed over the phone, she said.
According to Banerjee, the President’s Secretariat’s advance team visited the venue on March 5 and was informed about the lack of arrangements, but the programme continued as scheduled.
She also said that the president had been received and seen off by the mayor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, the district magistrate of Darjeeling district and the police commissioner of the Siliguri Police Commissionerate in accordance with the protocol shared by the President’s Secretariat.
Banerjee added that she was not part of the approved lineup or dais plan for the event and asserted that there had been no protocol lapse on the part of the district administration.
“BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] is disrespecting and misusing the highest chair in the country for its own party agenda,” she alleged. “Most unfortunate.”
The political row escalated further on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Trinamool Congress government of disrespecting the president and the Constitution.
“This is not only an insult to the president but also an insult to the Constitution of the country and the great traditions of democracy,” the Hindustan Times quoted Modi as saying in Delhi. “Everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of [Adivasi] communities is disheartened.”
On Sunday, Modi had described the incident as “shameful and unprecedented”.
“Everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of [Adivasi] communities is disheartened,” Modi had said. “The pain and anguish expressed by Rashtrapati Ji, who herself hails from a [Adivasi] community, has caused immense sadness in the minds of the people of India.”
Meanwhile, the Union home ministry sought a report from the West Bengal government regarding the alleged protocol breach, the newspaper reported.
In a letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan sought a response by 5 pm on Sunday regarding alleged violations of the “Blue Book” rules during the president’s visit to the tribal event in north Bengal.
The Blue Book is a confidential document that outlines security and protocol rules for the president, vice-president, prime minister and their families.
A government official told the Hindustan Times that the Centre had sought clarification on the absence of the chief minister, chief secretary and director general of police to receive the president, which is a “serious violation of the Blue Book rules”.
It was not immediately clear if the state government had submitted its response.
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