'You Don't Want To Listen To Bengal': CM Mamata Banerjee Claims 'Humiliation' At NITI Aayog Meeting Even As Govt Denies
CM Mamata Banerjee alleged being silenced in a NITI Aayog meeting, accusing the Modi government of disrespect towards opposition voices. She criticised the Centre for withholding funds from Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has raised serious allegations against the Centre after walking out of a NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Banerjee claimed that she was interrupted and not allowed to complete her speech, accusing the ruling party of sidelining opposition voices. "I was not allowed to speak. They were repeatedly ringing the bell. This is humiliation," she said.
"I don't have a problem if they allocate more funds to some states... I told them that the Centre only gives instructions and it is the job of states to do the work on the ground. You only gave instructions during the COVID-19 crisis, and it was the states who handled everything. I told them that they have withheld ₹1.72 lakh crore of our fund, and this amount will only increase this year," she said upon her arrival in Kolkata, as quoted by news agency PTI.
VIDEO | "I don't have a problem if they allocate more funds to some states... I told them that the Centre only gives instructions and it is the job of states to do the work at the ground. You only gave instructions during the COVID-19 crisis, and it were the states who handled… pic.twitter.com/55k2HLDcMl
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 27, 2024
Detailing the events of the NITI Aayog meeting, CM Banerjee expressed her frustration: "Chandrababu Naidu presented his views for 20 minutes, Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal, Chhattisgarh, and Goa also presented their views for 15-20 minutes. But I spoke only for 5 minutes, and people started interrupting me by ringing the bell. I said, okay, you don't want to listen to Bengal, and I boycotted the meeting and left", news agency ANI reported.
#WATCH | Kolkata: On the NITI Aayog meeting, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says "...I was the only one from the Opposition ruled states who had gone there. They should have given me 30 minutes...At the beginning of the meeting, Rajnath Singh said that everyone should present… pic.twitter.com/KZSjThtOjW
— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2024
Banerjee further added, "I was the only one from the Opposition-ruled states who had gone there. They should have given me 30 minutes. At the beginning of the meeting, Rajnath Singh said that everyone should present their views in 5-7 minutes, but I was not even given 7 minutes to speak. Their people were given 20 minutes; they got special packages and privileges, but others got 0 minutes."
"I did the right thing by boycotting the meeting. I will not let them insult Bengal. I stand strongly with the Opposition parties running the government in other states," she emphasised.
She went on to allege "humiliation" and said, "If they understood their mistake, they would not have done this with me. This was a deliberate attempt to malign the Opposition."
#WATCH | Kolkata: On the NITI Aayog meeting, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says "...If they understood their mistake, they would not have done this with me. This was a deliberate attempt the malign the Opposition..." pic.twitter.com/5mfJQQeJyA
— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2024
Parliamentary Democracy, Federal Cooperation Being Murdered Under Narendra Modi Regime: TMC
Banerjee's walkout has drawn reactions from various quarters. TMC national spokesperson Shantanu Sen remarked, "NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission, is working only at the behest of BJP. Today during the NITI Aayog meeting, when India's only female CM, who was representing the entire INDIA alliance, was pointing out the shortcomings of the Budget and how Bengal is not getting its due, after five minutes, her mic was switched off. This proves how the voice of the opposition is being throttled... how Parliamentary democracy and federal cooperation are being murdered under the Narendra Modi regime."
VIDEO | "NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission, is working only at the behest of BJP. Today during the NITI Aayog meeting, when India's only female CM (Mamata Banerjee) who was representing the entire INDIA alliance...when she was pointing out at the… pic.twitter.com/SaQ1GXxYa5
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 27, 2024
West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja echoed similar sentiments, stating, "Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of a non-BJP ruled state, had to walk out of the meeting in protest that she wasn’t allowed to speak. This is unfortunate. She is carrying the aspirations of people and their expectations from the government of India that the fund deprivation which has taken place for Bengal…MNREGA funds, and Awas Yojna funds. These were not heard. Her mic was switched off."
VIDEO | “Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of a non-BJP ruled state, had to walk out of the (NITI Aayog) meeting in protest that she wasn’t allowed to speak. This is unfortunate. She is carrying the aspirations of people and their expectations from the government of India that the… pic.twitter.com/oNUwgbOCJu
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 27, 2024
Govt Denies Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's Allegations
Following the incident, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused Banerjee of framing a "false narrative." 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."
#WATCH | On West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's allegations, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, "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… pic.twitter.com/IxnO4NXj8l
— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2024
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) also countered Banerjee's claims, stating, "It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal, was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog. This claim is misleading. The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it."
It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog#PIBFactCheck
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) July 27, 2024
▶️ This claim is #Misleading
▶️ The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it pic.twitter.com/P4N3oSOhBk
BJP leader Locket Chatterjee accused the TMC and its supremo of doing "drama", alleging that she acted "according to the script".
#WATCH | On West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's allegation regarding the NITI Aayog meeting, BJP leader Locket Chatterjee says, "Whatever she is speaking is absolutely wrong. PIB has also done a fact check and presented the evidence of what happened there. She was given a slot… pic.twitter.com/1EA9A7O7EB
— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2024
"Whatever she is speaking is absolutely wrong. PIB has also done a fact check and presented the evidence of what happened there. She was given a slot according to her but she had to do some drama there. TMC politics is full of drama. She just wanted to show that she was against the Central Govt...She goes to Delhi only to do politics but nothing for the people...She did acting according to the script. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also knew that Mamata Banerjee means full of drama...She had already said yesterday that if anything happens like this in the meeting, she would leave," Locket Chatterjee told ANI.
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