West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee being felicitated by the women of Jain Community during the third day of a dharna against SIR issues, marking International Women’s Day, at Dorina Crossing, Esplanade, in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The controversy over breach of protocol and change in the venue of an event during President Droupadi Murmu’s visit to Darjeeling on Saturday (March 7, 2026), continued to rage in West Bengal’s political circles on Sunday (March 8, 2026), with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the developments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had described it as “shameful and unprecedented” on Saturday, on Sunday said that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had not only boycotted an important event of the tribal community but also boycotted the President of India.
“The President comes from the Adivasi community. She is concerned about the development of the Adivasi Santhal community. The Trinamool Congress has subjected the event to mismanagement. This is not only an insult to the President, but also an insult to the spirit of the Constitution as well as the rich traditions of democracy in our country,” Mr. Modi said while participating in an event at the national capital.
The insult to President Murmu was an insult to tribals of the State, BJP MPs from West Bengal representing Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities said. “The Chief Minister should resign immediately. Seeking an apology will not work. In the interest of the tribal community, she must resign,” Khagen Murmu, BJP MP from the Malda Uttar Lok Sabha constituency said during a press conference in Kolkata.
President Droupadi Murmu had on Saturday (March 7, 2026) expressed her anguish against the West Bengal government for changing the venue of the International Santhal Conference in Darjeeling district, and not adhering to the desired protocol to receive her at the event. Neither the State’s Governor nor the Chief Minister nor any West Bengal Minister had been present to receive the President in Darjeeling on Saturday (March 7, 2026).
Responding to the charges made against her, Ms. Banerjee on Sunday (March 8, 2026) asserted there had been no breach of protocol at Ms. Murmu’s even on Saturday (March 7, 2026). The responsibility for mismanagement at the function, if any, lay with its private organisers and the Airports Authority of India, which had provided the venue, the CM said.
Whereas on Saturday (March 7, 2026), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson had targeted the President, urging her “not to play politics at the advice of the BJP”, on Sunday (March 8, 2026)she said that her government had “full respect for the Chair of the President, and the Constitution”.
Ms. Banerjee, who has been sitting on a dharna (protest) in Kolkata since March 6 against the deletion of electors in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the State, accused Mr. Modi of insulting the President.
The West Bengal CM made public a photograph of Mr. Modi remaining seated at an event with veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, with President Murmu standing next to them.
“The picture shows that the PM is seated when the President is standing. We never do that. It is the BJP which carries the culture of insulting the President, not us,” Ms. Banerjee said, displaying the photograph as “evidence of the insult” .
With Assembly election in West Bengal due in the next two months, breach of protocol relating to the President of India, who hails from a tribal community, has assumed political proportions.
Published – March 08, 2026 10:41 pm IST
