Raipur, 11 Mar 

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has criticized Mamata Banerjee over President Droupadi Murmu's "insult" during her recent visit to West Bengal, urging the CM to apologise and reaffirm respect for democratic institutions.

In a letter written to Banerjee on Tuesday, Sai said India's democratic traditions and culture of mutual respect have always been admired and must be preserved, and accused the TMC government of continuously mistreating the deprived communities of West Bengal.

He posted a copy of the letter on his X handle on Wednesday.

President Murmu had expressed her anguish at not finding either the West Bengal chief minister or any of her cabinet ministers to receive her on Saturday at the Bagdogra Airport, where she had reached to attend an international tribal conference.

Murmu had also expressed her displeasure over the change of venue of her programme near Siliguri.

Banerjee, however, maintained that the West Bengal government wasn't even aware of the details of the President's programme and that it wasn't taken into confidence by the private organizers.

She had accused Murmu of speaking "on BJP's advice" after the President, during the visit to north Bengal to attend the 9th International Santal Conference, questioned the pace of development among tribals there.

Sai, in his letter to Banerjee, said, "I am writing this letter to you for the second time with a very sad heart. I hope you will take cognizance. India's democratic traditions and etiquette have always been praised. Here, differences of opinion were never allowed to turn into personal hostility. We must keep these traditions intact."

He expressed sadness over what he described as the "insult" of President Murmu, who comes from a tribal community, saying the incident appeared to disregard these long-standing democratic values.

Sai said the behaviour was particularly unacceptable as it occurred just before International Women's Day and involved the country's first tribal woman President.

"It is especially painful that such conduct came from a woman leader. We had hoped that you would express regret over this unfortunate incident in independent India's history, but your response after the event has hurt the country even more," Sai wrote.

This is the first time the President has had to publicly express her displeasure with a state government, and it is extremely painful. This will also significantly damage the image of West Bengal, a state whose gentility is renowned worldwide, the letter stated.

Sai also alleged that during President Murmu's visit to West Bengal, basic protocol was not followed.

He claimed that the venue of a programme organized by the tribal community was changed arbitrarily and that the President was deprived of basic facilities, which he said amounted to disrespect toward constitutional institutions.

Sai further said the incident had hurt people from tribal, backward and Dalit communities across the country.

"Even before this, I had drawn your (Banerjee's) attention to the Sandeshkhali incident (by writing a letter), where leaders of your party had committed the worst crimes against tribal women. Even then, you demonstrated your anti-tribal and anti-deprived mentality by not addressing the issue," he said.

"What harm has the tribal community done to you? All residents of West Bengal, including the Santhal community, have participated in the state's development. You are continuously mistreating the deprived communities of West Bengal. This is completely unfair. The people of the state will never forget this," Sai said.

He urged Banerjee to sincerely apologize to the President and the nation and to reaffirm her commitment to democratic institutions.