BJP leaders joining the Parivartan Yatra on the final day in Siliguri on Tuesday continued to highlight the alleged insult of President Droupadi Murmu by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, indicating that the BJP would keep the issue alive to garner support from the state’s tribal population.

“We apologise to the President for the disrespect shown to her by Mamata Banerjee and her government. The President is from a Scheduled Tribe community, and the treatment that was meted out to her shows how the chief minister and her party deal with STs,” Shankar Ghosh, the Siliguri MLA, said as the motorcade of the Yatra started.

“We are confident that BJP will come to power in Bengal this time… once our government is formed, we will invite the President to Siliguri and will give her a civic reception,” Ghosh, who is also the party’s chief whip in the Bengal Assembly, added.

On Saturday, Murmu was in the Siliguri subdivision to attend the Santhal conference. She alleged non-cooperation and disrespect by the state government, and wondered why the chief minister and her ministers did not receive her and why the venue of the event was shifted.

Mamata, in turn, denied charges of disrespect and said that it was an event organised by a private organisation, the International Santal Council, and no protocol lapse occurred on the part of the district administration.

BJP leaders from across the country, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condemned the “insult” to President Murmu.

On Tuesday, as the party’s Yatra moved through the Terai tea belt with a considerable tribal population, BJP leaders continued to underscore the issue.

“The chief minister often insults tribals, Matuas and other communities. Earlier, in Phansidewa (a block of Siliguri subdivision), a person had kicked a pregnant tribal woman, and eventually, her newborn died. In such cases, the chief minister remains silent,” alleged Arun Mondal, the BJP president of Siliguri organisational district of the party.

This leg of the Yatra, which had commenced from Cooch Behar, ended at Phansidewa, an Assembly seat reserved for STs, on Tuesday evening.

“We have reached out to thousands of people during the Yatra. From Wednesday, we will prepare for the Prime Minister’s public meeting in Calcutta,” Mondal added.

Blockade

Members of the tribal community in South Dinajpur’s Balurghat staged a road blockade on Tuesday afternoon at Hili More, protesting the insult of President Murmu and Mamata’s remarks. Led by the BJP’s ST Morcha, the demonstrators, many armed with traditional bows and arrows, blocked the Hili-Balurghat road, disrupting traffic for nearly an hour.

A Balurghat police team reached the spot and spoke to protesters. Traffic resumed after an hour.

“We were forced to block the road to protest against the insult to the President. The chief minister must publicly apologise for it,” said Sushil Mardi, the South Dinajpur district president of the BJP’s ST Morcha.