President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 15 November 2026, paid floral tributes to Tribal icon Birsa Munda at the Parliament House complex on his 151st birth anniversary, observed nationally as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas'. The ceremony drew sharp political commentary after leaders of the Indian National Congress (Congress) were conspicuously absent, prompting a broadside from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Key Developments at Parliament Complex

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also paid their respects to Birsa Munda at the Parliament complex. The event marked a gathering of senior constitutional figures at the same venue, underscoring the significance the ruling dispensation has attached to Janjatiya Gaurav Divas since its formal institution.

What BJP Said About Congress's Absence

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari did not hold back after Congress leaders — including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi — skipped the tribute ceremony. In a post on X, Bhandari wrote: 'Rahul Gandhi and Congress hates Tribal Heroes!' He further alleged: 'Rahul Gandhi and entire Gandhi Vadra family skipped paying tribute to Bhagwan Birsa Munda at Parliament!'

Bhandari also invoked a remark attributed to Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, made outside Parliament following President Murmu's address to a joint sitting of the House in 2025. At the time, Sonia Gandhi had said: 'The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end...she could hardly speak poor thing.' The BJP has repeatedly cited that remark to argue that Congress harbours contempt for Tribal representation at the highest constitutional office.

Bhandari also criticised Rahul Gandhi for attending the 'Bharat Summit 2026', organised by the Congress-led Telangana government, saying: 'Rahul Gandhi has time for attending summit in Hyderabad with George Soros ecosystem, but no time to pay respect to Bhagwan Birsa Munda?' He concluded: 'Congress is Anti Tribal!'

Jharkhand Statehood Day Greetings

The occasion coincided with Jharkhand Statehood Day (Jharkhand Sthapna Divas), also observed on 15 November every year. Prime Minister Modi extended greetings to the people of Jharkhand and expressed confidence that the state would reach new heights of development. Jharkhand was carved out of southern Bihar on 15 November 2000 to become India's 28th state under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.

Who Was Birsa Munda

Born on 15 November 1875, Birsa Munda was a Tribal freedom fighter and folk hero from the Munda community of the Chhotanagpur plateau — a region that now constitutes Jharkhand. He led the Ulgulan (meaning 'The Great Tumult'), an uprising against British colonial rule and the displacement of Tribal communities from their forest lands. He died in British custody in 1900, aged just 25, and remains a defining symbol of Tribal resistance and rights in India. This is the second year the government has marked his birth anniversary with a high-profile national observance at Parliament.