West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, alleging that her microphone was muted and she was not allowed to speak beyond five minutes. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the only Chief Minister from an opposition-ruled state to attend the meeting in Delhi, claimed her mic was muted when she raised the issue of West Bengal being denied central funds.
“I was allowed to speak only for five minutes. Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak. The Chief Ministers of Assam, Goa, and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10–12 minutes. I registered my protest and came out,” said the Trinamool Congress chief. “I was talking about central funds not being given to West Bengal, this is when they muted my mic,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the move an insult to Bengal and all regional parties, alleging bias towards NDA allies. “I said, why did you stop me, why are you discriminating? From the opposition side, only I am representing here, and attending this meeting because of the greater interest that cooperative federalism should be strengthened,” she said.
However, government sources disputed her claim, stating that her speaking time was over and her turn would have come after lunch. “She was accommodated as the seventh speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early,” sources said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also reiterated her demand to scrap the Niti Aayog and restore the Planning Commission. “Niti Aayog has no financial powers, how will it work? Give it financial powers or bring back the Planning Commission,” she asserted.
Apart from opposition chief ministers, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also skipped the Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi. The state was represented by Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. The opposition states boycotted the meeting as a mark of protest against what they called a “discriminatory” Union Budget, alleging that the Budget favored Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, states ruled by NDA allies JD(U) and TDP.
