New Delhi. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday criticised Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for his comments on the Niti Aayog meeting on social media platform ‘X’. Ramesh had termed the alleged behaviour with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Niti Aayog Governing Council meeting held here on July 27 as “unacceptable”.
Ramesh wrote on ‘X’, “Ever since the inception of NITI Aayog 10 years ago, it has been an attached office of the PMO and has been a puppet of the PM. It has not contributed in any way to the advancement of cooperative federalism. Its functioning has been blatantly partisan, and it has not been professional or independent at all.”
The Congress leader alleged, “It (NITI Aayog) suppresses all different and dissenting views, which is the essence of an open democracy. Its meetings are a farce. Its behaviour with the West Bengal CM today, though in line with NITI Aayog, is unacceptable.”
Finance Minister Sitharaman responded to this by saying that Jairam Ramesh was not present in the meeting. She clarified that Mamata Banerjee spoke for the full seven minutes allotted to each Chief Minister. She also said that some Chief Ministers were given extra time on their request, and no one had any complaints.
The finance minister wrote on Twitter, “Jairam, you were not there! We all listened to Hon’ble CM Mamata Banerjee. She spoke for the entire time. The time was shown on the screen in front of our table.” He further wrote, “Some other Chief Ministers spoke for more than their allotted time. On their request, additional time was given without any noise. The mikes were not switched off, not for anyone, especially not for the Chief Minister of West Bengal.”
The Finance Minister also accused Mamata Banerjee of spreading misinformation about the mic. He said that no one’s microphone was ever switched off. He said that Mamata Banerjee’s claim was only an attempt to please the ‘India’ block. Earlier in the day, Banerjee claimed that she was not given enough time to speak during the NITI Aayog meeting and her mic was switched off.
Tags: Jairam Ramesh, Mamata Banerjee, nirmala sitharaman, Policy Commission
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 27, 2024, 22:32 IST