Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed the Narendra Modi-led government and said it was an "insult" to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that her mic was muted during her speech at the NITI Aayog meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
ALSO READ | ‘Drum beater of non-biological PM’: Cong on NITI Aayog after Mamata's walkout from think tank's meeting
Raut said this practice of muting the microphones of the chief minister doesn't suit democratic norms, reported news agency PTI.
After leaving the NITI Aayog meeting held in New Delhi, the West Bengal CM and TMC supremo told reporters, “This is insulting. I will not attend any further meetings.”
ALSO READ | Nitish Kumar skips PM Narendra Modi-chaired NITI Aayog meeting
"I have come out boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting. Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak, and the Chief Ministers of Assam, Goa, and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes. I was stopped after just 5 minutes. This is unfair," Mamata told reporters.
The Shiv Sena UBT leader also took a dig at Maharashtra CM, Eknath Shinde over the tax distribution and funds allocated to Maharashtra in the Union Budget. He said, “The money which is distributed by the Centre belongs to the people of India. It is collected as various taxes. What did Maharashtra get.. Our chief minister came back empty-handed.”
Banerjee was the only opposition leader to attend the meeting and she alleged that her mic was switched off five minutes into her speech, while other chief ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh were allowed to speak for a longer duration. She also said that the union government does not support “cooperative federalism”, alleging the centre of depriving Bengal of MGNREGA funds for the last three years.
{{/usCountry}}Banerjee was the only opposition leader to attend the meeting and she alleged that her mic was switched off five minutes into her speech, while other chief ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh were allowed to speak for a longer duration. She also said that the union government does not support “cooperative federalism”, alleging the centre of depriving Bengal of MGNREGA funds for the last three years.
{{/usCountry}}On Friday, Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman said that Mamata's claims are false and asked her to speak “the truth behind this rather than again build a narrative based on falsehood”, reported ANI. FM Sitharaman added that everyone there heard her and the West Bengal CM was given the allotted time which was displayed on a screen which was present before every table.
(with inputs from news agencies)