President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday expressed displeasure over the venue chosen for the 9th International Santhal Conference, saying West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee might have been upset and that she did not attend the programme despite it being scheduled much earlier.. After President Murmu’s remarks, the TMC posted on X while listing some of the projects undertaken by the Mamata Banerjee government for the Scheduled Tribes (ANI/HT Photo). “Generally, it is seen that when the President comes, the chief minister and other ministers remain present. But the chief minister madam didn’t come. Even I am the daughter of Bengal. I am not allowed to visit Bengal. Mamata didi is like my younger sister. Maybe she is miffed with me and that’s why the program was held so far. But never mind,” President Murmu said.. Officials, requesting anonymity, said that even though the President’s programme was initially supposed to be held at Phansidewa, it was later shifted near Uttoran Township at Bidhannagar Majhi Than, a few kilometres away, citing security protocols.. Also read: Voter deletions are an attempt to divide Bengal: Mamata Banerjee on day 2 of dharna. Addressing a gathering at Phansidewa near Siliguri in north Bengal, the President said, “It would have been better had the programme been held at this place. It is such a huge field. I don’t know what the administration thought. They had stated that this area was congested, but I came here easily. But I feel that 5,00,000 people could gather here.”. “I don’t know what came to their mind that they shifted the venue where Santhal people couldn’t go. I didn’t like the ambience there, so I came here. I was disheartened. But I was happy when I came here. The venue (where the programme was arranged) was far and people couldn’t reach,” the President added.. “They must have thought that the President would leave soon after coming, as there won’t be any audience. Even if they had thought this way, then thank you. The Governor couldn’t come because there has been a change. The date for the programme was fixed much earlier and hence I came,” she said.. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Banerjee’s dharna outside Kolkata’s Esplanade metro station to protest the alleged arbitrary deletion of several million people during the SIR of electoral rolls entered its second day on Saturday.. Senior police officials of Darjeeling district refused to comment on the President’s remarks.. The President also questioned whether the area, which has a dominant tribal population, was witnessing any development. “I don’t think the Santhals and Adivasis in this area are witnessing any development,” Murmu said.. The TMC posted on X while listing some of the projects undertaken by the Mamata Banerjee government for the Scheduled Tribes: “It is extremely unfortunate that the Hon’ble President appears to be under the misinformed impression that there has been no developm