New Delhi. The West Bengal Chief Minister, who was a part of the opposition alliance ‘India’ in the ninth meeting of the Governing Council of Niti Aayog, alleged that she was not allowed to speak in the Niti Aayog meeting. After being thrown out of the meeting, Mamta Banerjee directly told the media that she boycotted the Niti Aayog meeting because the Chief Ministers who spoke before her were given 12 to 20 minutes, while when her turn came, her mike was switched off after just 5 minutes. Mamta alleged that Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak, the Chief Ministers of Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh spoke for 10 to 12 minutes, but I was stopped after just 5 minutes. This is unfair.
The West Bengal Chief Minister accused the central government of political discrimination and said that the Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states were given more time, while she was the only Chief Minister from the opposition who came to attend the meeting. Mamata Banerjee demanded either the abolition of Niti Aayog or financial powers. Mamata Banerjee said in the meeting that if financial powers are not given to Niti Aayog, then the Planning Commission should be re-established.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directly rejected Mamata Banerjee’s allegations against the government in Niti Aayog. Nirmala Sitharaman said, “CM Mamata Banerjee attended the Niti Aayog meeting. We all heard her. All CMs were given allotted time and it was displayed on the screens in front of every table. She told the media that her mic was switched off. This is completely false. All the Chief Ministers were given their due time to speak. It is unfortunate that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that her mic was switched off which is not true…”
Bengal Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary has also called Mamta Banerjee’s allegations false. Adhir Ranjan has said that Mamta is lying and lies a lot. She already knew what she had to do there, she had already written the script for the entire drama. JDU, a constituent of the NDA, has also called Mamta Banerjee’s politics cheap. JDU’s chief spokesperson KC Tyagi has questioned why she participated when the ‘India’ alliance decided to boycott the Niti Aayog meeting.
It is worth noting that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was also not present in the NITI Aayog meeting held on July 27, but the reason for his absence is not political but personal, as informed by JDU leader Kase Tyagi.
Tags: BJP, Mamata Banerjee, nirmala sitharaman, Policy Commission
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 28, 2024, 02:53 IST