Meanwhile, saying that she respects the chair of the President, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee clarified that the President’s programme was under the jurisdiction of the Airport Authority of India. The Siliguri Mayor was present to receive the President and the Bengal government was not a stakeholder in the programme.
The West Bengal government’s response was not known till the filing of the report. In a letter to the West Bengal chief secretary, the Union home secretary has asked him to furnish a response on the violations of the ‘Blue Book’ rules regarding protocol, venue and route arrangements, officials said.
The ‘Blue Book’ is a confidential document which lists out rules for the security and protocol for the president, vice-president and the PM and their families. Officials said the communique sent to the West Bengal chief secretary sought a response regarding the absence of CM, chief secretary and DGP to receive the President on her arrival which is a serious violation of the ‘Blue Book’ rules.
The Centre has taken note that only the Siliguri Mayor was present to receive her, which is a violation of protocol, they said. According to officials, the washroom set up for the President did not have water for which an explanation has been sought from the state government.
“The programme was not organised by us. It was organised by a private organisation. It was not a state government programme. I have responded to it in my social media handle,” Banerjee said from her dharna manch in Kolkata.
“Despite highlighting that the private organisation may not be able to hold the programme, the President accepted the invitation by exercising her choice,” Banerjee said.Slamming PM Narendran Modi, Banerjee accused BJP of targeting Bengal as assembly election is approaching. The state has been asked to explain why the route chosen by the administration for ferrying the President was littered with garbage, they said. The letter seeks to know about the action taken against the DM of Darjeeling, Commissioner of Police Siliguri and ADM who seem to be directly responsible for the violations.
Murmu had been invited to the annual programme of the tribal community, which was originally scheduled to be held at Bidhannagar in Siliguri. However, citing security and other logistical reasons, authorities shifted the venue to Goshaipur near the Bagdogra airport, officials said.
