Union Tribal Affair Minister Arjun Munda on Saturday came down heavily on the TMC government in West Bengal and demanded an apology from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the derogatory remarks uttered by TMC leader Akhil Giri against President Droupadi Murmu.
The minister also asked the TMC chief to sack the Minister for hurting the sentiments of tribals.
"West Bengal CM is a lady and a minister from her cabinet has made such a disrespectful comment on our tribal President. The minister's remarks are strongly condemnable," said Munda.
"This clearly reflects how the West Bengal government has hurt the sentiments of 10.30 crore people of tribal community and also exploited and insulted the democratic tradition and values of the citizens of the country," he added.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Union Minister Munda said that the Bengal government has been indulging in exploiting tribals and demanded that Mamata Banerjee should publicly apologize to the nation for her minister remarks.
The union minister also asked the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to give a clarification on Akhil Giri's remarks, and said, "West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee should immediately dismiss such a leader from her cabinet and apologize in front of the nation for such comments."
"They (TMC) cannot digest the fact that a tribal woman is now the President of India. BJP strongly condemns this, and will raise this issue with the citizens of the country to make sure that he (TMC leader Akhil Giri) gets sacked," he said.
He said that the presidential post is beyond politics and the person holding the Constitutional post represents the entire nation.
"The TMC leader's statement against the President of India is not only unfortunate but will also affect our international identity. It clearly reflects that the West Bengal government will continue to harass Adivasi communities," he alleged.
TMC minister Akhil Giri made objectionable remarks against the President on Friday while talking about West Bengal opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari following an incident of unrest in the BJP leader's Nandigram constituency over the Martyrs' Day event.
"He (Suvendu Adhikari) says I am not good-looking. How beautiful you are! We don't judge anyone by their appearance, we respect the office of the President of India. But how does our President look?" Giri had said while hitting out at Suvendu Adhikari.
A video of the same also went viral on social media, sparking strong criticism from BJP leaders and also a few from the TMC.
( With inputs from ANI )
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