West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday claiming that her mic was muted five minutes after she started speaking while mentioning that other CMs were allowed to speak for much longer.
Banerjee reiterated that she finds the Union Budget for 2024-25 "biased" which she had earlier mentioned was one of her aim to 'protest against' at the NITI Aayog meeting today.
Banerjee storming out of the meeting in Delhi spoke to reporters where she stated, "I have come out boycotting the meeting.", added,"...I was speaking, my mic was stopped. I said why did you stop me, why are you discriminating. I am attending the meeting you should be happy instead of that you are giving more scope to your party your government."
Speaking of biased treatment in the meeting, she mentioned "(Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak. The chief ministers of Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes."
She further said, "..This is not only the insult of Bengal but also of all regional parties..."
Banerjee mentioned that she was the only opposition leader in the meeting, "Only I am there from the opposition and you are stopping me from speaking," she added, "I attended the meeting because cooperative federalism should be strengthened."
"Even the budget.... This is political, biased Budget. I said, why are you discriminating against other states? NITI Aayog has no financial powers, how will it work? Give it financial powers or bring the Planning Commission back," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo told reporters after she came out of the meeting.
The government, however, rejected her claim, stating that her speaking time was over.
The TMC quickly responded, asserting that the voice of the people of Bengal was not heard. The opposition BJP in West Bengal criticised Banerjee, calling it a "drama" intended to gain political advantage.
The Congress on Saturday said the treatment meted out to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi was "unacceptable".
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin condemned the Centre over his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee's claim that she was unfairly stopped midway in her speech at the NITI Aayog meeting.
Stalin in a post on X asked, "Is this #CooperativeFederalism? 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. Cooperative Federalism requires dialogue and respect for all voices."
How Did BJP React?
The BJP accused Banerjee of deliberate and premeditated action aimed at grabbing headlines.
BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh said, "It is very easy to grab headlines in our country. First, say ‘I am the only opposition CM attending the Niti Aayog meeting’. Come out (of the meeting) and say 'I boycotted since mike was switched off'. Now for whole day TVs will display the same. No work. No discussion. That's Didi to you."
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke to ANI on the matter when she said, "CM Mamata Banerjee attended the Niti Aayog meeting. We all heard her. Every CM was given the allotted time and that was displayed on the screen which was present before every table...She said in the media that her mic was put off. That is completely false. Every CM was given their due time to speak...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."
Press Information Bureau in a fact check post on X refuted Banerjee's claims of her mic being muted.
They stated, "It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog."
They further called it 'misleading' and in explanation they mentioned, "The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it."
After returning to Kolkata on Saturday after the Delhi meeting, Banerjee reacting to the criticism for her allegations, she reiterated that she was humiliated as she was not allowed to speak at the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi.
Banerjee said she has no problems if other states are allocated more funds but would protest discrimination against West Bengal.
“I was not allowed to speak. They were repeatedly ringing the bell. This is humiliation,” she said..
