‘I am very sad’: President Murmu objects to Mamata govt allocating smaller venue for Santal event

New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu She expressed her displeasure on Saturday after the TMC-ruled West Bengal government changed the venue of an event she was supposed to attend.The president said authorities told her the original location had been changed due to crowding.Speaking at the International Santal Council, President Murmu said: “There are people who don’t want Santals to unite, progress, get education… There are people who don’t want Santals to become strong. However, I know that Santals sacrificed their lives for the country.”Later, the president went to the original venue of the meeting and highlighted the contradictions in the authorities’ account, saying: “When I came here, I found that the venue was large enough to accommodate 500,000 people.”The president said she was deeply saddened by the last-minute change of venue, noting how the chief minister Mamata Banerjee Choosing not to meet her was a violation of established norms.Murmu on Saturday said the contribution of Santals to the country’s freedom struggle has not been given due recognition and claimed that the names of several legendary figures belonging to the community “have not been deliberately included in history”.After inaugurating the 9th International Santal Conference at Bidhan Nagar in Siliguri in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, she highlighted the need for education of Santal children.“I know how much the Santals contributed to the country’s freedom struggle. But the names of legendary Santals are not deliberately enshrined in history,” she said.Responding to the president’s dissatisfaction with the incident, Amit Malviya, head of the information technology unit of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, pointed the finger at the Mamata Banerjee government, saying: “When a state government starts ignoring the dignity of the presidency of India, it reflects not only an administrative failure but also a breakdown in constitutional decorum and governance.”