West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday left the NITI Ayog meeting midway after she was allegedly not given the Opportunity to speak.
Ms Banerjee, who was the only Chief Minister to attend the NITI Ayog meeting amid a boycott by INDIA bloc CMs, alleged that her mic was muted while she was speaking.
Speaking to reporters after storming out of the meeting, CM Banerjee said it was insulting that she was not given the opportunity to speak and that she will not attend further meetings of the policy think tank of the Government of India.
“I said you (central government) should not discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak but I was only allowed to speak for 5 minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes. I was the only one from the opposition who was participating but still, I was not allowed to speak and the mike was muted…This is insulting, and I’ll not attend any meeting further,” said the West Bengal CM after walking out of the meeting.
The development comes in the backdrop of a protest by the CMs of Opposition ruled states over alleged discrimination by the Centre in allocation of the Union Budget.
The Chief Ministers of several INDIA bloc-ruled states, including Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, have boycotted the NITI Ayog meeting to convey their displeasure over the alleged discrimination.
In a video statement, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said that he didn’t attend the meeting as the Centre neglected Tamil Nadu’s interest in the Union Budget 2024.
“I was supposed to attend the ‘NITI Aayog’ meeting currently being held in Delhi, chaired by the Prime Minister. However, I am compelled to speak before you, in the people’s forum, seeking justice due to the discriminatory attitude towards Tamil Nadu reflected in Union Budget 2024,” said Stalin.
Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar echoed similar sentiments, criticizing the Union government for inadequate budget allocations for Hyderabad.
“We are not happy with the central government and to convey that we have boycotted the Niti Aayog meeting,” Prabhakar said.
The NITI Aayog, the central government’s apex public policy think tank, includes the PM as Chairman, Chief Ministers of all states, Lieutenant Governors of several Union Territories, and several union ministers as its members.
The Ayog’s ninth Governing Council meeting was held today in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by all the CMs of the BJP-ruled states. Several Union Ministers, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.