Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hits out at Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who said that NITI Aayog’s “treatment of the West Bengal CM today, although typical of the NITI Aayog, is unacceptable” and said that Mamata Banerjee’s claim is “baseless”, adding that she is making an effort to keep the leaders of the INDIA bloc happy.

Refuting allegations made by West Bengal CM, Ms. Sitharaman, while replying to Jairam Ramesh on X, said that the former spoke her full time and her mic was not switched off in between at the NITI Aayog’s meeting on Saturday.

“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,” she said.

“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,” the Finance Minister added.

Earlier, while launching a scathing attack on NITI Aayog, the Congress General Secretary said that the advisory body has been an attached office of the Prime Minister’s Office and has functioned as a drumbeater for the non-biological PM.

“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. Its functioning has been blatantly partisan, and it is anything but professional and independent,” Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

“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. Its treatment of the West Bengal CM today, although typical of the NITI Aayog, is unacceptable,” he added.

Meanwhile, with the West Bengal CM attending the Niti Aayog meeting on Saturday, JD-U leader KC Tyagi asked if she wanted to join the ruling NDA, stating that she had taken a decision that was not in keeping with the move of other chief ministers of the INDIA bloc to boycott the meeting.

“INDIA alliance has decided that all its members will boycott the NITI Aayog meeting. I want to ask Mamata Banerjee if she wants to join NDA because even after being asked not to go, she went to the NITI Aayog meeting,” Mr. Tyagi told ANI.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, dismissed Mamata Banerjee’s claim that her microphone was muted while speaking at the NITI Aayog meeting.

He clarified that each Chief Minister was given a designated speaking time, which was displayed on screens at their tables, and that the time allotted to the West Bengal CM had ended.

Addressing a press conference after the NITI Aayog meeting, Mr. Subrahmanyam said that the West Bengal CM requested to speak early before lunch, and “it was accepted.”

“The Chief Minister of West Bengal requested to be given a turn before lunchtime. I’m just putting facts on the ground, no interpretations. It was a clear request from their side because normally we would have gone alphabetically, starting with Andhra Pradesh, then Arunachal Pradesh. We adjusted, and the Defence Minister called her in just before Gujarat. So, she made her statement,” he said.

“Every Chief Minister is allotted seven minutes, and there’s a clock on top of the screen that shows the remaining time. It goes from seven to six to five to four to three. At the end, it shows zero. Nothing else happened. Then she said she would have liked to speak for more time but chose not to. That was it. We all heard her points respectfully, and they will be reflected in the minutes. The Chief Secretary continued to attend the meeting even after she left to catch a flight to Calcutta,” Mr. Subrahmanyam added.

The CEO further mentioned that the Chief Ministers of ten states and Union Territories did not attend the meeting.

“We had 10 absentees and 26 participants. Absentees included Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Puducherry. The Chief Minister of West Bengal was present,” he said.

Nirmala Sitharaman also rejected Mamata Banerjee’s claim that her microphone was switched off while she was speaking at the NITI Aayog meeting and said that every Chief Minister was “allotted due time to speak”.

“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. We could see that two tables have a screen before us. She said in the media that her mic was turned off. That is completely false. Every CM was given their due time to speak,” the Finance Minister told ANI.

Ms. Sitharaman said that it is “unfortunate” that the West Bengal CM is making such claims, adding that the government is happy that West Bengal Chief Minister attended the meeting and she said that she is speaking on behalf of the opposition, i.e. INDIA bloc.

“It’s unfortunate that the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has claimed that her mic was switched off, which is not true, and it is unfortunate because we’re happy that she participated in this meeting. She put forth her case, spoke for West Bengal and, as she said, spoke for all the opposition. But even as she was doing it and we were hearing, as per the procedure.”

Ms. Sitharaman further said that the Bengal CM should have requested for more than the allotted time but she chose to use it an excuse to walk out of the meeting.

“If she’s reminded that her time is over, even with the mic on, she could have requested that she will continue speaking like some other Chief Ministers did. But she chose to use it as an excuse so that she can get out of the meeting,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

“She should speak the truth behind this rather than again build a narrative based on falsehood,” the Finance Minister added.

Speaking to reporters, the West Bengal Chief Minister alleged “political discrimination,” stating that at the NITI Aayog meeting, she was not allowed to speak for more than five minutes, while other Chief Ministers were given more time.

“I said the central government should not discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak, but my mic was muted. I was allowed to speak only for five minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes,” Ms. Banerjee told reporters after she stormed out of the NITI Aayog meeting today.

“I was the only one from the opposition participating, but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting,” Ms. Banerjee said as she walked out of the meeting midway.

“I have come out boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting. Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak, Chief Ministers of Assam, Goa, and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes. I was stopped after just five minutes. This is unfair,” the Chief Minister said, speaking to reporters after leaving the meeting.

Claiming she participated in the meeting to strengthen “cooperative federalism,” Ms. Banerjee said, “There are many regional aspirations. That is why I am here, to share those aspirations. If a state is strong, the Union will be strong.”

The Chief Minister stated that several states, including West Bengal, were deprived in the Union Budget presented in Parliament this week.

New Delhi:

Strongly countering West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claim that her microphone was switched off and she was only allowed to speak for five minutes at a key Niti Aayog meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has accused her of “trying to build a narrative out of falsehood”.

The finance minister said all chief ministers were allotted “due time” to speak and the Trinamool Congress chief could have also requested to talk for longer rather than “looking for an excuse” to get out of the meeting. 

Ms Banerjee – who was the only INDIA bloc chief minister not to boycott the Niti Aayog general council meeting on Saturday – had alleged “political discrimination” and said she was allowed to speak for only five minutes while some of her counterparts from other states got to talk for over 15. She said her microphone was turned off and a bell was rung repeatedly to remind her that her allotted time was up. 

“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the Niti Aayog meeting. We all heard her. Every chief minister was given the allotted time, and that was displayed on the screen, which was present before every table. Apparently she has now conveyed through the media that her mic was turned off. That is completely false. Every chief minister was given their due time to speak,” the finance minister told ANI.

Stating that the meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but organised by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Ms Sitharaman said that when any chief minister’s allotted time was over, Mr Singh tapped on the microphone.

“This was done for all chief ministers but it is unfortunate that Ms Banerjee said her mic was switched off, which is not true. It is unfortunate because we are happy that she participated in this meeting, put forth her case, spoke for West Bengal and, as she said in the meeting, spoke for all the opposition,” the finance minister said. 

“As per the procedure, if she’s reminded that her time is over, even with the mic on, she could have requested that she would like to continue speaking, like some other chief ministers did. She could have continued speaking as long as she wanted, but she chose to use it as an excuse so that she could get out of the meeting. And then to say that the mic was switched off is just so unfortunate. I wish she would say the truth behind this, rather than again build a narrative based on falsehood,” she added.

‘Effort To Keep INDIA Allies Happy”

The alleged discrimination against Ms Banerjee was also taken up by some of her colleagues in the INDIA alliance, including the Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, who called Niti Aayog meetings a farce. 

Taking to X, Mr Ramesh said “It (Niti Aayog) muzzles all divergent and dissenting viewpoints, which are the very essence of an open democracy. Its meetings are a farce to be reckoned with. Its treatment of the West Bengal chief minister today, although typical of the NITI Aayog, is unacceptable.”

Ms Sitharaman hit back at Mr Ramesh, retorting that the Congress wasn’t even at the meeting and Ms Banerjee’s statement seemed like an effort to keep her INDIA allies happy. 

“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,” the finance minister wrote on X. 

Following this up with a jibe, Ms Sitharaman added, “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.” 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 8th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog on the theme of ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Role of Team India’ at the new Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Saturday, May 27, 2023. Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: PTI

NITI Aayog’s 9th Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi began in New Delhi on July 27.

The meeting focuses on making India a developed nation by 2047. It aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and state governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions.

The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all state Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog.

The meeting also focuses on recommendations of the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December last year.

During the conference, recommendations were made on five key themes — drinking water: access, quantity, and quality; electricity: quality, efficiency, and reliability; health: accessibility, affordability, and quality of care;schooling: access and quality and land and property: accessibility, digitization, registration, and mutation.

A vision document is being prepared to help India become a developed economy of $30 trillion by 2047, the 100th year of its independence.

In 2023, NITI Aayog was entrusted with the task of consolidating the 10 sectoral thematic visions into a combined vision for Viksit Bharat @2047.

The vision encompasses various aspects of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance, among other.

New Delhi:

Deviating from the stand taken by her counterparts belonging to other parties in the INDIA alliance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said she will attend the Niti Aayog general council meeting on Saturday because it is in the interest of her state, adding that she will raise the issues of all opposition-ruled states.

The Niti Aayog general council meeting is one of the few forums where state chief ministers get to meet not just the Prime Minister, who presides over the gathering, but also Union ministers.

The Trinamool Congress chief arrived in Delhi on Friday amid speculation about her cancelling her visit and skipping the Niti Aayog meeting in line with chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and others like Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin. 

Stating that she had cancelled, but reconsidered on the advice of senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, who is also her nephew, the Bengal chief minister said the Union Budget had been brazenly politicised. 

“They say the Budget shows cooperative federalism, but it is biased politicisation. The Budget is total deprivation of states. You can give some special package to your friends but you can’t deprive opposition states completely,” she asserted, adding that states have to be empowered.

“Centre should only have external affairs, defence and internal security. Finance (is something) they have destroyed,” she claimed. 

‘Scrap Niti Aayog’

Ms Banerjee said that, during the meeting, she would raise the issue of West Bengal “not getting anything” in the Budget as well as the Rs 1.71 lakh crore her government claims the Centre owes the state. She also said it was time the Niti Aayog was scrapped and the Planning Commission was brought back.

“It (Niti Aayog) has no financial implications… The Planning Commission had worked well for India since Independence. It was mooted by Subhash Chandra Bose,” she said. 

On being asked if she was part of the opposition INDIA bloc, she said she was at the national level but the alliance was not needed in the state. “Trinamool Congress is enough to fight the BJP in West Bengal. Nationally, we are with INDIA,” she said.

In the Lok Sabha elections, she said the Congress had gained in states where regional parties are strong and credit should be given to both. She also predicted that, in the upcoming Assembly elections, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, which is an INDIA ally, will win in Maharashtra, Congress will emerge victorious in Haryana and Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha would remain the Jharkhand chief minister. 

On Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in prison in the liquor policy case, she said she was very concerned about him and others “targeted” by the BJP-ruled government at the Centre. “Only agencies and conspiracies cannot give you political results,” she said.

Ms Banerjee also met Mr Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita, on Friday evening.