Mamata Banerjee walks out of NITI Aayog meet, claims she was given inadequate time to speak

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday walked out the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, alleging that she was not given “inadequate time to speak” and was discriminated against, The Indian Express reported.

Banerjee alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak, while the chief ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states of Assam, Goa and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10 to 12 minutes. The Telugu Desam Party is an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.

Banerjee alleged that in contrast, her microphone was cut off within five minutes.

“I came alone from the Opposition but they stopped me in five minutes,” the chief minister said. “This is an insult. I will not attend any further meetings.”

The Union government’s Press Information Bureau, however, described Banerjee’s claim as misleading. The agency claimed that only a clock showed that her allotted time was over, but no bell was rung to mark it.

“Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch,” the Press Information Bureau said in a social media post. “She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also termed Banerjee’s allegations that her microphone was put off as false, adding that the chief minister was heard at the meeting, ANI reported.

“Every chief minister was given the allotted time and that was displayed on the screen which was present before every table,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate that the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has claimed that her mic was switched off which is not true...She should speak the truth behind this rather than again build a narrative based on falsehood,” Sitharaman added.

Five chief ministers of Opposition-ruled states had earlier said that they would boycott the NITI Aayog meeting to protest against the allegedly discriminatory Union Budget presented on July 23

Banerjee, however, said that she would attend it to protest the “political discrimination being done with Bengal”.

On Saturday, the chief ministers missing from the meeting included Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, The Indian Express reported.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar was also not present at the meeting. His party is part of the National Democratic Alliance.

‘NITI Aayog should be scrapped’: Mamata Banerjee

Ahead of the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, Banerjee had said on Friday that the government-run public policy think tank should be scrapped and the earlier Planning Commission should be brought back, PTI reported.

The NITI Aayog was constituted in 2015 to replace the 65-year-old Planning Commission.

“Since the NITI Aayog has been planned, I have not seen a single work being done because they don’t have any power,” she said. “Earlier, there was a Planning Commission. As a chief minister... at that time I saw there was a system.”

According to Banerjee, state governments had the power to put forth their issues under the Planning Commission. She added that it was good at taking care of state governments in different areas. “But now there is no hope, no scope,” she added.

“I will raise my voice that stop this NITI Aayog,” the chief minister said, according to PTI. “They do not have any financial implication. They cannot do anything, only hold meeting once a year to show their face. Please bring back the Planning Commission again.”

The NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting convened on Saturday was the ninth such gathering of the think tank since its inception and the first one after its reconstitution following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.