Kolkata, March 7 (IANS) With President Droupadi Murmu expressing displeasure earlier in the day over the West Bengal government allotting a smaller venue for the 9th International Santal Conference at Gossaipur in Darjeeling district, where she was the chief guest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday described the development as a symptom of a “constitutional collapse” in the state.

The event was initially scheduled to be held at Phansidewa in the same district. However, the organisers had to shift the venue at the last moment to a smaller location at Gossaipur after the state administration reportedly denied permission for the programme at Phansidewa on security grounds.

President Murmu expressed displeasure over the last-minute change in the venue of the event and also pointed out that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or any of her Cabinet colleagues did not meet her during her visit to the state, which she said was against established traditions and protocols whenever the President visits a place.

“I do not know why Mamata Banerjee has become so angry with me. She is like my sister,” the President said before leaving the state.

Reacting to the development, BJP’s Information Technology (IT) cell chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, described the episode as a symptom of a total constitutional collapse in the state.

“The events in West Bengal today point to a complete collapse of the constitutional framework under the Mamata Banerjee government. In a rare and unprecedented development, the Hon’ble President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, openly expressed displeasure over the lack of preparation and protocol during her visit to Siliguri,” Malviya said in a statement posted on his social media handle.

According to him, it was even more shocking that the state government denied permission for the International Santali Conclave, where the President herself was the chief guest, at the originally scheduled venue.

Malviya said that when a state government chose to disregard the dignity of the office of the President of India, it reflected not just administrative failure but also a breakdown of constitutional propriety and governance.

“This is not merely discourtesy. It is institutional disrespect and another reminder of how governance in Bengal has descended into chaos,” Malviya added.

At the time the report was filed, there was no reaction from the West Bengal government or the Trinamool Congress on the matter.

–IANS

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