BJP MP Khagen Murmu demands Mamata's resignation, says she insulted President

Kolkata, Mar 8 (PTI) BJP MP Khagen Murmu on Sunday demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stating that she insulted President Droupadi Murmu.

The President expressed her displeasure over the change of venue of her programme near Siliguri on Saturday, and over neither the CM nor any senior cabinet minister being present.

"To uphold the dignity of the Adivasis, the chief minister should resign immediately," Murmu, a tribal MP, said.

Maintaining that a mere apology would not do, the Maldaha Uttar MP said that the chief minister was behaving like a 'Badshah' (emperor) of West Bengal.

Addressing tribals at the International Santal Conference near Siliguri in north Bengal on Saturday, Murmu had said Banerjee was like her "younger sister", but wondered whether the CM was upset over her visit as neither she nor any minister was present during the programme.

In unusually sharp remarks hours after Murmu expressed her displeasure, Banerjee accused the President of speaking "on BJP's advice", questioning her "silence" on "atrocities" against tribals in states such as Manipur and Chhattisgarh, both ruled by the saffron party.

Castigating Banerjee for her comments against the President, BJP MLA from Siliguri, Sankar Ghosh, said it has again been proved that the state's chief minister does not adhere to any constitutional norms.

"The Union Home Ministry should hold a detailed probe into the insult of the President and take action against the state officials," Ghosh, who is the chief whip of the BJP's legislative party in the state assembly, said.

Criticising Khagen Murmu, state minister Shashi Panja asked why he was not questioning the deletion of names of women from the Scheduled Tribe communities during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

"These women have also been deprived, but the BJP does not talk about them," the TMC leader said. PTI AMR ACD