With no response forthcoming from President, TMC decides to send a third letter to seek her audience

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) sought to present the ‘report card’ on
the development of the indigenous people of Bengal to President
Droupadi Murmu. However, the party has received no appointment from
her as yet.

According to sources, TMC MPs wrote a letter to the President on
Thursday requesting for a meeting on Friday. But since her office, in
a communique, said that ‘the President is busy this week,’ and
therefore, no time can be allocated, the MPs wrote a second letter on
Friday requesting a meeting the following week.

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According to the sources, no response has been received from the
President’s Office as yet. ‘The Trinamool does not understand what it
means to stop’. Hence, they are once again preparing to write a third
letter. In the letters, a request was made to meet with the President
with a delegation of 12 to 15 representatives from the Trinamool.
According to the Trinamool sources, the MPs had sent the letter
requesting time to present to President Droupadi Murmu details of what
the West Bengal government has done for the indigenous community.

What is noteworthy here is that last Saturday, the President arrived
in Bengal to participate in an ‘International Indigenous Conference’
organised by a private entity. The venue for her event, which was
initially scheduled to take place in Bidhannagar, Siliguri, was
changed. Due to security concerns, the venue was relocated to Ghoshpur
near Bagdogra. This decision was met with discontent from the
President herself. Upon reaching Bidhannagar, she raised a question,
stating, “I intended to hold the meeting in this area, and there is
ample space available. But why did the state government not allow me
to conduct the meeting here?”

Immediately referring to the Chief Minister as ‘younger sister’,
President Murmu stated, “Perhaps for some reason she is upset with me.
That is why she did not allow the meeting to take place.”

This sparked a veritable controversy. The BJP alleged that the
President was ‘insulted’, and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along
with other Central ministers and leaders, endorsed the allegation.

Subsequently, the Chief Minister of Bengal announced at the dharna
stage that he had assigned responsibilities to Lok Sabha MP Sudip
Bandyopadhyay and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien to present the record
of all developmental work done for the indigenous people of Bengal to
President Droupadi Murmu.