Mamata Banerjee Walks Out of NITI Aayog Meeting
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming she was not given an opportunity to speak.
Banerjee expressed her dissatisfaction with the limited time she was allowed to speak, stating that she was only given 5 minutes while others spoke for 10-20 minutes. She also pointed out that she was the only opposition member present at the meeting.
"I said you (central government) should not discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak but I was allowed to speak only for 5 minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes. I was the only one from the opposition who was participating but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting," Banerjee said.
The TMC supremo further criticized the Union Budget, calling it "politically biased."
Several opposition chief ministers, including MK Stalin, Pinarayi Vijayan, Bhagwant Mann, and Congress CMs from Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana, boycotted the meeting. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy also did not attend.
On the previous day, Banerjee had called for the scrapping of the NITI Aayog and the restoration of the Planning Commission.