Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday intensified his attack on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over the treatment of President Droupadi Murmu during her recent visit to the state, saying the “enlightened people” of Bengal will never forgive the party for “insulting” a tribal woman who holds the country’s highest constitutional office.
Speaking in New Delhi after inaugurating two new Delhi Metro corridors and launching infrastructure projects, PM Modi referred to the controversy while addressing a gathering on International Women’s Day.
“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,” the prime minister said.
The row began 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 chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her ministers during her visit.
Soon after, Mamata 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 hit back at the TMC government, accusing it of insulting the President. Modi described the episode as “shameful and unprecedented” and said the TMC had crossed all limits.
The controversy has further raised the political temperature in the poll-bound state, where the BJP is trying to challenge the Bengal chief minister’s 15-year rule.
Addressing the event in the national capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the state government had mishandled an event related to the Santal community and disrespected the President.
“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 noted that Murmu comes from a tribal background and has shown concern for the Santal community. PM Modi said the TMC government’s actions were an affront to the President and the Constitution.
He also said the people of the state would remember the incident.
The prime minister said the “enlightened” people of West Bengal will never forgive 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 inaugurated two new Delhi Metro corridors and laid the foundation stone for three more metro lines that will connect several parts of the capital.
He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 15,200 crore under the central government’s General Pool Residential Accommodation redevelopment plan.
The total cost of the projects announced during the event is about Rs 33,500 crore. On International Women’s Day, Modi also spoke about the government’s “Lakhpati Didi” initiative aimed at increasing the income of women in self-help groups.
He said the government had earlier committed to helping 3 crore women reach an annual household income of 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.
The prime minister also criticised the previous Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, calling it an “AAPda (disaster) government”.
“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.
