- The President's office rejected Trinamool Congress' meeting request due to 'lack of time'
- Trinamool sought to brief the President on state welfare for tribal communities
- The rejection followed a dispute over protocol at a tribal welfare event in Siliguri
The office of President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the Trinamool Congress' request for an appointment citing a 'paucity of time', sources said Friday morning. Sources said a senior Trinamool member wrote to Murmu on Monday asking for a meeting with a 12-member delegation to brief the President on state-sponsored welfare measures for tribal communities.
The Trinamool wrote back requesting time next week, sources added.
The rejection followed a face-off between the President and the Bengal government over alleged protocol lapses at a conference on welfare of tribal communities in Siliguri last week. The Trinamool's request has been seen as an attempt to mend fences and share information about state initiatives for the 'inclusive development of all sections of society'.
The President had questioned the absence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or any of her cabinet ministers in the group that received her at the airport in Bagdogra. She also offered sharp remarks over a change in the location of the event and suggested the state is actively denying tribals access to welfare measures and facilities being offered by the centre.
"Is development taking place for Santhals and tribals here? I don't think so," she said at the event. "Are facilities (from the central government) reaching you? I don't think so. I think some people are being stopped from coming here... maybe some don't want Santhals to progress..."
The Chief Minister responded as sharply and dismissed the President's remarks as "political" and timed to coincide with a critical Assembly election due in April/May.
"I would like to humbly request the President not to make statements that don't speak well of your post. You spoke about one community today... you didn't speak about the rest of the communities here in Bengal," she said.
RECAP | "Is She Upset With Me?" President Jabs Mamata, Her "Politics" Reply
"Don't play politics on advice of BJP before poll."
Mamata Banerjee - protesting the revision of state voter rolls, a revision opposition parties say is meant to disenfranchise some sections of voters - also asked the President: "Do you know how many tribals were deleted from voter lists here?"
The exchange was picked up by the Bharatiya Janata Party that is in power at the centre, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the alleged lapses of protocol "shameful".
"Everyone who believes in democracy and the empowerment of tribal communities is disheartened. The pain and anguish expressed by Rashtrapatiji, who herself hails from a tribal community, has caused immense sadness..."
On the alleged lapses of protocol the Bengal government has said the event Murmu attended had been privately organised and conducted, and that the Chief Minister was not part of it.
"No protocol lapse happened on part of district administration," she said and accused the BJP of having "disrespected and misused the highest chair in the country for its own party agenda".
With input from agencies
