President Droupadi Murmu and Mamata Banerjee were involved in an unprecedented verbal battle on Saturday after the President alleged the state government had tried to foil her Bengal visit and the chief minister accused her of playing politics.
Addressing an International Santhal Council conference in Siliguri sub-division, Murmu underlined that no minister had received her and said the Mamata government had not only denied her the venue originally sought but tried to keep the attendance low.
She also questioned the condition of Santhals — her own community — in Bengal.
Mamata, who is on a dharna in Calcutta against the SIR, denied trying to limit attendance at Murmu’s meeting, highlighted her government’s welfare measures for tribal communities, and asked the President to “not do politics ahead of elections at the BJP’s behest”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waded into the controversy, castigating the Bengal government for the “insult” to the President, calling it “shameful and unprecedented” in a post on X, and accusing the state of treating “Santal culture” too “casually”.
“Mamata Didi is like my younger sister, but it seems she is angry with me for some reason,” Murmu told the gathering at Gossainpur near Bagdogra.
“Usually, during the President’s visit, the chief minister and other ministers remain present. But today the chief minister did not come. There was no one here. The governor could not attend as he has recently been transferred.”
C.V. Ananda Bose had resigned as Bengal governor on Thursday.
Mamata began her rejoinder saying she respected the office of the President and would avoid directly criticising her, but went on to accuse Murmu of pushing the BJP’s narrative.
“The President was here to propagate the BJP’s narrative.... Before making remarks about Bengal, you should have checked the condition of tribals in BJP-ruled states,” Mamata said.
She said she couldn’t receive the President at Bagdogra airport because she was prioritising public concerns by holding a “dharna” in Calcutta. “If you come once a year, I will welcome you. But if you visit Bengal frequently, we can’t attend every time,” she said.
Earlier, addressing an audience of about 1,000 at Gossainpur, Murmu had questioned the low participation. “Is this really a conference of the International Santhal Council? I do not think so. While sitting on the dais, I noticed Santhal people moving around outside. It seemed some people were stopping them from attending,” she said.
Mamata denied preventing people from attending the event. “The state government had no information about the details of the programme — the organisers, the funding or other arrangements,” she said. “We respect you, but please do not do politics ahead of elections at the BJP’s behest.”
From Gossainpur, Murmu travelled about 30km to Bidhannagar in Siliguri town where the event had originally been scheduled. “I was told that the place was congested and therefore the programme had to be shifted to another venue. But now I see the field here is quite spacious and could accommodate around 5 lakh people,” she told a gathering on a schoolground.
“I don’t know what was on the administration’s mind. Because of the change in venue, many of my brothers and sisters could not attend the programme (in Gossainpur). I was disappointed by the low turnout and decided to come here.”
In Gossainpur, Murmu had described herself as a “daughter of Bengal”, expressed concern about the Santhals’ socio-economic condition in the state, and said she was “sceptical” whether they were receiving welfare benefits. “There are people who do not want the Santhal community to move forward and let them be educated, strong and united,” she said.
Mamata highlighted her government’s welfare initiatives for tribal communities. She asked party MPs Derek O’Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to seek an appointment with the President and submit a report on these initiatives.
The chief minister also questioned Murmu’s silence on the violence in Manipur and said the atrocities against tribal communities in (NDA-ruled) Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had not been addressed.
In a late-night social media post, Mamata said the “district administration (had) flagged in writing to the President’s Secretariat that the organiser” International Santhal Council, a private body, “appeared inadequately prepared”. She appended images of a few documents as proof.
“The President’s Secretariat advance team visited on 05.03.26, was apprised of the lack of arrangements, yet the programme continued as scheduled,” she wrote.
Mamata stressed that Murmu had been received and seen off by the Siliguri mayor, Darjeeling district magistrate and Siliguri police commissioner in keeping with “the approved lineup shared by the President’s Secretariat”.
“CM, West Bengal was not part of the lineup or the dais plan. No protocol lapse happened…” she added, attacking the BJP for “misusing the highest chair in the country for its own party agenda”.
Political observers could not remember such publicexchanges ever taking place between a President and a chief minister.
“First, the President of India has rarely been dishonoured in this manner. Second, it’s difficult to recall an instance when a President publicly used such words about a chief minister,” political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty said.
The BJP tore into Trinamool. “It’s shameful that the Bengal government failed to provide the basic courtesy and facilities usually accorded to the President,” Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said.
Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb said: “The venue was finalised by Rashtrapati Bhavan in consultation with various agencies and the state government. We feel pained and disappointed by these remarks. By making such comments, the President has not done justice to the dignity of her office.”
Additional reporting by Bireswar Banerjee