“Mamata Banerjee disrespected President”: BJP MP Anurag Thakur

North : Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anurag Thakur accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “disrespecting” President Droupadi Murmu after the breach of protocol at the Santal event. “Mamata Banerjee disrespected the President and supports illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators in West Bengal, which is unfortunate,” Anurag Thakur said. Earlier, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad also hit out at Mamata Banerjee for allegedly disrespecting President Droupadi Murmu during her state visit, and asked her to stop making controversies about the Constitution being in danger when she cannot even give respect to the President.
This comes after President Droupadi Murmu, during her event in Darjeeling, expressed displeasure with the West Bengal government for not receiving her upon arrival, not attending her event and changing the venue of the event, causing inconvenience to both the people and the President.
“Under the rule of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, only infiltrators are welcomed… I would request Mamata Banerjee to stop making controversies about the constitution in danger. You can not give respect to the President… and you talk about the constitution in danger… We condemn this. The entire Indian government and our party are standing against the insult meted out to the President… You have done a shameful act, which has never happened to any President in independent India…,” he said.
Further, the BJP MP accused TMC of attempting to thwart Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s events in the state, alleging that the police watches over “whatever atrocities Trinamool goons commit” and, in return receive protection from CM Banerjee.
“Whenever PM Modi goes to Bengal, every effort is made to thwart his program, but he is not given a place… I don’t feel the need to detail what has happened to other women… The police stand guard over whatever atrocities Trinamool goons commit, and Mamata Banerjee protects them,” he accused.
MC MP Abhishek Banerjee claimed that whatever happened at the International Santal Conference in West Bengal on Saturday was a fault of the Airports Authority of India, under whose jurisdiction the event was organised. While addressing a public meeting at Gopinathpur Ground in Mathurapur on Sunday, he said, “We do respect the President, but they (BJP) do not respect the office. We respect the chair. The Prime Minister attacks Bengal whenever there is an election. We did not organise the programme. A letter was sent from the state government stating that the organisers did not have the capability to organise the programme. Whatever happened, the organisers are the primary party responsible. They accepted the invitation — that was their prerogative. Why people did not turn up is up to the organisers.”
The controversy erupted after President Murmu on Saturday expressed disappointment over the arrangements at the conference. She questioned the choice of venue, noting that many members of the Santal community could not attend due to its remote location. She also highlighted the absence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other ministers. The ruling Trinamool Congress, however, rejected the allegations of protocol lapses, describing them as politically motivated attempts by the opposition to embarrass the state government.