Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee skips NITI Aayog meeting
Last year, Mamata Banerjee had walked out of the NITI Aayog’s meeting, claiming that she was allowed to speak only for five minutes
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, on Saturday.
In July 2024, Banerjee had walked out of the NITI Aayog’s meeting, claiming that she was allowed to speak only for five minutes.
This year’s theme is ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047’, with the central focus on states and thereby making India a developed nation.
“The way the Modi government replaced the Planning Commission with the NITI Aayog was unethical. Not all states are allowed to speak. Whatever the party’s supremo says is the decision of the party. Banerjee has done the right thing by skipping the meeting,” Saugata Roy, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, told the media.
There was no official statement about who would represent the state in the meeting in the absence of the chief minister.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress slammed the chief minister for skipping the meeting.
“The chief minister has skipped the meeting. Last year she claimed that her microphone was switched off. None of the chief ministers in the meeting, however, stood with her. West Bengal is already lagging behind. There are lakhs of migrant labourers and students are going to other states to pursue higher education. The chief minister is pushing the state towards an uncertain future. Just to oppose the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister is sacrificing the state’s interests,” Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member, said in a video message.
“The chief minister is disrespecting the chair and betraying the people of West Bengal. This is her failure,” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Congress MP told the media.
