India, March 8 -- President Droupadi Murmu's visit to West Bengal on Saturday became a political flashpoint as she reproached chief minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly breaching protocol, expressed disappointment over the venue change of an event and questioned the development of tribal people in the state, in a rare rebuke of an elected government by the constitutional head.

Her remarks triggered a bitter face-off, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of "crossing all limits" and insulting the President, while chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using the country's highest office to malign the state and questioned the President's "silence" on alleged atrocitie...