Stopped from speaking, Mamata storms out of Niti Aayog meet

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday walked out of a Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that she was unfairly stopped midway through her speech, a charge denied by the government asserting that her speaking time was over.

IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaks to media persons after walking out of Niti Aayog meeting, in New Delhi, July 27, 2024. Photograph: ANI on X

Banerjee, the only opposition leader to attend the meeting, alleged that her microphone was switched off after five minutes of her speech while other chief ministers, including from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh, were allowed to speak for a longer duration.

"This is insulting. I will not attend any further meetings," the Trinamool Congress supremo told reporters in New Delhi after walking out of the governing council meeting of the central government's public policy think-tank.

Refuting Banerjee's claims, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she spoke her full time and her mic was not switched off in between at the meeting.

"She (Mamata) 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," Sitharaman said in a post on X.

Banerjee's walkout triggered a war of words between the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the BJP calling it a "drama" that was premeditated and aimed at grabbing headlines and the TMC hitting back, accusing the Centre of suppressing opposition voices and undermining cooperative federalism.

The Congress criticised the treatment meted out to Banerjee as "unacceptable," and alleged that the Niti Aayog has functioned as a "drumbeater" for the Prime Minister since its inception, 10 years ago.

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

Alleging that she was "humiliated" by not being given adequate time, Banerjee told reporters that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu "was given 20 minutes to speak, and the chief ministers of Assam, Goa, and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes and I was stopped from speaking after just five minutes."

"This is unfair. I am the only one from the opposition side. I attended this meeting because of the greater interest that cooperative federalism should be strengthened," she added.

Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau, the government's nodal agency to disseminate information, issued a fact-check on Banerjee's claim and said it is "misleading" to say that her microphone was switched off.

"The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it."

"Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch. She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early," the PIB Fact Check posted on x.

Banerjee also told reporters in the national capital that she had no problem with the Centre allocating more funds to some states but they cannot discriminate against West Bengal.

Banerjee emphasised that she attended the meeting to "strengthen cooperative federalism" and questioned the fairness of the budget allocation process, accusing the BJP-led Centre of political bias and discrimination against non-BJP states.

"The Planning Commission used to plan for the states. The Niti Aayog has no financial powers. How will it work? Give it financial powers or bring the Planning Commission back," she said.

She highlighted issues like halted funds for the MGNREGA and the Prime Minister Awas Yojana in West Bengal, arguing that the government should not discriminate between states based on political affiliations.

Soon after walking out of the Niti Aayog meeting, Banerjee left for Kolkata. After returning to Kolkata, Banerjee reiterated her concerns about the alleged discriminatory treatment meted out to West Bengal.

"Nobody (opposition bloc leaders) went as they boycotted [the meeting]. I thought I would go and speak for everyone. I spoke whatever I could in the 3-4 minutes - about Bengal's deprivation and the way all Opposition-ruled states were deprived in the Budget whereas, considerations were given to BJP-ruled states and their allies," she said.

Banerjee said she has no problem with other states receiving more funds, but it shouldn't be at the expense of others.

"It's unfair if some people have plenty while others are left to starve," she said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin expressed solidarity with Banerjee, criticizing the BJP government for its treatment of Opposition leaders.

"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.

Senior TMC leaders, including Industry Minister Shashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharya, accused the Centre of attempting to silence opposition voices and undermining cooperative federalism.

"Cooperative federalism takes a hit. This is an attempt to silence the opposition voice at the meeting. The Chief Minister of a non-BJP-ruled state had to walk out of the meeting as she was not allowed to speak. Awas Yojna funds and MGNREGA funds are due.

These are true and justified claims of Bengal,” she said.

The BJP accused Banerjee of deliberate and premeditated action aimed at grabbing headlines.

"It is very easy to grab headlines in our country. First, tell I am the only 'Opposition CM' attending the Niti Aayog meeting. Come out & tell 'I boycotted since the mic was switched off'. Now whole day TVs will display the same. No work. No discussion. That's Didi to you," BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh posted on X.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya described Banerjee's walkout as a "weak script" intended to gain political mileage.

BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya alleged that Banerjee's walkout from the meeting was premeditated and for the cameras.

Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the meeting was convened to discuss and deliberate on the country's development.

"The state governments should extend their full support... this type of politics should not happen," Meghwal added.

Meghwal's cabinet colleague Pralhad Joshi also hit out at Banerjee and the INDIA bloc, saying the West Bengal chief minister did not offer a single seat in the state to the alliance and everyone knows how she works and what respect she gives to the Congress there.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the treatment meted out to Banerjee was "unacceptable". However, his party colleague and West Bengal state Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury, a staunch opponent of TMC in Bengal, had a different view as he termed the entire incident scripted.

"In the first place, why did she go? Secondly, if she had gone and could not speak, she should have moved court or staged a sit-in. Walking out is not an option. The truth is she is wary of the rise of Rahul Gandhi and wanted to grab the headlines," he said.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya questioned why Banerjee attended the meeting when chief ministers of other INDIA bloc parties chose to skip it.

"She was aware of the consequences. Her action suggests that she went to Delhi for some understanding with the BJP. People will see through the pretentiousness of the entire issue," he claimed.

Chief ministers of the INDIA bloc, including Stalin, Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan (Communist Party of India-Marxist), Punjab's Bhagwant Mann (Aam Aadmi Party), Congress's Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Jharkhand's Hemant Soren (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), did not attend the Niti Aayog meeting.

Opposition parties have claimed that the recent Union Budget overlooked the needs of states ruled by them.

Prime Minister Modi chaired the Niti Aayog's ninth Governing Council meeting, focusing on making India a developed country by 2047.