West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made headlines when she abruptly left the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presiding, citing that she was not granted adequate speaking time. Mamata Banerjee, the lone opposition representative, expressed her disappointment at being allowed only five minutes to share her views while noting that other participants before her had been given longer speaking slots of 10-20 minutes.
During the meeting, Mamata Banerjee raised concerns about what she perceived as biases in the Union Budget and urged against discrimination towards state governments. The TMC supremo accused the central government of favoring BJP-ruled state chief ministers by instructing them to highlight their accomplishments and the performance of various departments and schemes. The absence of several other Opposition chief ministers, such as Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin, Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan, and Punjab's Bhagwant Mann, who chose to boycott the event, further highlighted the tensions within the political landscape.
Criticism of the NITI Aayog's functioning was not limited to Mamata Banerjee, as she advocated for the restoration of the Planning Commission in place of the public policy think-tank created by the Modi government. The event underscored the deep-seated issues of representation and fairness in national-level forums, particularly concerning the role of opposition leaders in policy discussions and decision-making processes.