Mamata’s Niti Aayog walkout triggers NDA govt-Opposition showdown

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of a NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday (July 27) and claimed that she was stopped unfairly midway through her speech, but the government refused the charge saying her speaking time was over.

Banerjee said her microphone was switched off after only five minutes, while other chief ministers including from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh, were allowed to speak for longer durations.

“This is insulting. I will not attend any further meeting,” the TMC supremo told reporters after walking out of the governing council meeting of the central government's public policy think-tank, attended by various chief ministers and union ministers.

Several TMC leaders hit out at the government for what they called an unfair treatment meted out to the sole opposition representative at the meeting, while other INDIA bloc parties also came out in her support.

The BJP, however, took a swipe at the West Bengal chief minister, saying the walkout was premeditated and aimed at grabbing headlines.

Unacceptable, says Congress

The Congress said the treatment meted out to her was “unacceptable” and alleged the Niti Aayog has functioned as a “drumbeater” of PM Modi since it was set up 10 years ago.

The meeting was boycotted by the Congress CMs, as also by other Opposition-ruled states barring West Bengal, over alleged discrimination against non-NDA-ruled states in the Union Budget.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the treatment of the West Bengal CM today, although typical of the NITI Aayog, was “unacceptable”.

Ramesh said, “Since it was established ten years ago, NITI Aayog has been an attached office of the PMO and has functioned as a drumbeater for the non-biological PM.” It has not advanced the cause of cooperative federalism in any manner, he said.

“Its functioning has been blatantly partisan, and it is anything but professional and independent,” he alleged. “It muzzles all divergent and dissenting viewpoints, which are the very essence of an open democracy. Its meetings are a farce to be reckoned with,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

Sitharaman hits back

However, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit back at the Congress on the issue. She posted on X, “Jairam, you weren’t even there! We all heard Hon. CM @MamataOfficial. She spoke her full time. The screen in front of our tables kept showing the time. A few other CMs spoke beyond their allotted time. On their own request, extra time was allowed without any fuss. Mikes were not switched off, not for anybody, particularly, not for CM, WB.”

“Mamata ji has chosen to spread falsehood. I was happy she attended. Was happier when she said she is speaking for Bengal and in fact for the entire opposition. I may agree or disagree with what she had to say. But now with her saying baseless things outside, I can only conclude that she is making an effort to keep I.N.D.I alliance happy,” she added.

Mamata lying: Chowdhury

Interestingly, though the Congress’ central leadership threw its weight behind Mamata Banerjee, the party’s Bengal unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that she was lying about not being allowed to speak in the Niti Aayog meeting.

“The things that Mamata Banerjee is saying regarding NITI Aayog meeting, I feel like she is lying. It is very surprising if a state's CM wouldn't be allowed to speak. Mamata Banerjee knew what would be happening there. She had the script. She knew what was happening in the meeting,” Chowdhury said.

“I think that today, the way Rahul Gandhi appears as the Leader of Opposition in all of India, and the way common people of India have faith in him, it has started to create jealousy in her mind,” he claimed.

Earlier in the day, Chowdhury wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, alleging that West Bengal is in an “anarchic condition” and sought her intervention to “restore law and order” in the state.

Claims misleading: PIB

Soon after walking out of the Niti Aayog meeting, Banerjee left for Kolkata and, later, told reporters in the state capital that she did not have any problem with the Centre allocating more funds to some states but they cannot discriminate against West Bengal.

She alleged that she was humiliated by not being allowed to speak at the Niti Aayog meeting.

However, PIB Factcheck, in a post on X, said it is “misleading” to say that Banerjee's microphone was switched off. “The clock only showed that her speaking time was over,” it said.

It further said that Banerjee's turn to speak would have come after lunch, but she was accommodated as the seventh speaker on an official request from the West Bengal government as she had to return to Kolkata early.

‘Politically-biased’ budget

Banerjee said she mentioned during the meeting that the BJP-led Centre presented a politically-biased budget which discriminated against some states.

“They are politically biased. They are not giving proper attention to different states. Even the budget is a politically-biased budget,” she said.

“I do not have any problem with them giving special attention to some states. I asked why were they are discriminating against other states. This should be reviewed. I am speaking for all the states. I said we are the ones who work while they only give directions,” the TMC supremo said.

She also said the NITI Aayog does not have any financial powers and either it should be given those powers or the Planning Commission should be reinstated. “The Planning Commission used to plan for states. The NITI Aayog has no financial powers. How will it work? Give it financial powers or bring the Planning Commission back. I also said how the MGNREGA and (Prime Minister) Awas (Yojana) funds were halted (for West Bengal) for three years. If they discriminate between their party and others, how will the country run? When they are in power, they have to take care of all,” Banerjee said.

Mamata finds support

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin came out in support of his West Bengal counterpart.

"Is this Cooperative Federalism? Is this the way to treat a Chief Minister? The Union BJP government must understand that opposition parties are an integral part of our democracy and should not be treated as enemies to be silenced," he said in a post on X.

"Cooperative Federalism requires dialogue and respect for all voices," Stalin added.

Chief ministers of the INDIA bloc -- Stalin (DMK), Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI-M), Punjab's Bhagwant Mann (AAP), Congress's Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) and Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Jharkhand's Hemant Soren (JMM) -- skipped the NITI Aayog meeting.

Opposition parties have alleged that the states ruled by them have been ignored in the Union Budget presented recently in the Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the NITI Aayog's ninth Governing Council meeting, which focused on making India a developed country by 2047.

(With agency inputs)