Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged “political discrimination” at a recent NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi, claiming her microphone was muted and she was allowed to speak for only five minutes. The meeting was intended to allow states to present their concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ms. Banerjee, the only Chief Minister from a non-BJP ruled state who attended the meeting, claimed, “I said you (Centre) shouldn’t discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak, but my mic was muted. I was allowed to speak only for 5 minutes, while people before me spoke for 10-20 minutes,” she told reporters. “I was the only one from the opposition who was participating, but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting,” she added.
Despite her participation, other Chief Ministers from the INDIA bloc boycotted the meeting, citing unfair treatment in the Union Budget. Mamata Banerjee had stated her intention to raise the issue of ‘political discrimination’ against Bengal.
In response to her claims, the Centre refuted the allegations, stating that her microphone was not muted. The Press Information Bureau posted on X (formerly Twitter), “It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog. This claim is Misleading. The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it.”
The meeting saw a boycott from several opposition leaders, initiated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. The boycott was followed by Congress-ruled states including Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and the Chief Ministers of Jharkhand and Kerala, Hemant Soren and Pinarayi Vijayan respectively, also chose to skip the event.
The NITI Aayog meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was meant to provide a platform for state leaders to voice their concerns and suggestions. However, the controversy over speaking times and the opposition boycott have overshadowed the intended collaborative spirit of the gathering.
