‘Bring Back Planning Commission’: Bengal CM Mamata In Delhi Ahead Of PM Modi-Led NITI Aayog Meet
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said she will attend the NITI Aayog meeting to protest against the 'discriminatory' budget against opposition-ruled states and alleged conspiracy to divide Bengal.
In Delhi to attend a NITI Aayog meeting on July 27, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday advocated for the scrapping of the public policy think-tank established by the Modi government and the reinstatement of the Planning Commission. Speaking to a group of journalists, Banerjee criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), labelling it a "tukde-tukde platform" and asserting her determination to prevent the division of West Bengal.
Banerjee is set to attend the NITI Aayog meeting on Saturday, despite many INDIA bloc chief ministers opting to skip it. She emphasised the importance of raising their collective voices on a common platform, noting, "They (BJP) have formed the government, but they don't have the people's mandate. This is the first time since 2014 that they have not formed the government as a single party", as quoted by news agency PTI.
Criticising the BJP-ruled National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for a "politically biased budget" that she claims deprives opposition states, Banerjee explained her participation in the meeting, "I thought it is my duty to raise this voice at least on a common platform, though I know the NITI Aayog has no financial powers."
Banerjee argued that the NITI Aayog has been ineffective since its inception, "Since the NITI Aayog was planned, I have not seen a single work being done because they don't have any power. Earlier, there was a Planning Commission. As a chief minister... at that time I saw there was a system."
She elaborated on the former Planning Commission's effectiveness in addressing state issues, "State governments had the power to discuss their issues under the Planning Commission, and it was very good at taking care of states in different areas. But now there is no hope, no scope."
Calling for the abolition of NITI Aayog, the West Bengal Chief Minister declared, "I will raise my voice to stop this NITI Aayog. They do not have any financial power. They cannot do anything, only hold meetings once a year to show their face. Please bring back the Planning Commission again", PTI reported.
VIDEO | "Again I will raise the voice that stop NITI Aayog because they don't have any financial implication and they can't do anything. They can only do a convenient meeting in a year to just show their face. Please bring Planning Commission again. Planning Commission should be… pic.twitter.com/q6tiIs6dly
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 26, 2024
She also recalled, "It was a plan of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and since Independence, the Planning Commission has worked a lot for the country."
Although she considered boycotting the meeting like other INDIA bloc members, Mamata Banerjee decided to attend after being persuaded by the party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee. She revealed that the chief ministers were asked to submit their speeches a week before the meeting, "They requested us to send our speeches seven days before the meeting. We have seen the Budget after that… we were not aware of their actual motive."
Commenting on her prediction that the NDA government will not complete its tenure, Banerjee remarked, "That is my hunch, but I may be wrong... But when you are in power, you should work for the welfare of people."
Mamata Banerjee On Attending NITI Aayog Meeting
Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Delhi, Banerjee said she would join the meeting to protest against what she termed a discriminatory budget and a conspiracy to divide Bengal and other opposition-ruled states. "I will stay at the meeting for a while. If I get an opportunity to deliver my speech at the meeting and record my protest against the discrimination and political bias against the opposition-ruled states in the budget besides the conspiracy that is being hatched to divide Bengal and its neighbouring states, I will do so. Else, I will walk out of the meeting," she stated, as quoted by news agency PTI.
CM Banerjee, accompanied by her nephew and TMC MP-cum-national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, left for Delhi on Friday afternoon, postponing her trip to the national capital by a day. The delay had led to speculations on whether CM Banerjee, who had earlier expressed her intention to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, would join the bandwagon of opposition party chief ministers boycotting the event.
"All opposition-ruled states, including Bengal, have been totally deprived in this Budget. The Centre has taken a step-motherly attitude towards these states. I cannot accept such discrimination and political bias against us," Banerjee said.
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CM Mamata Banerjee Slams ‘BJP Conspiracy To Divide’ Bengal And Its Neighbouring States
Responding to remarks by West Bengal BJP chief and union minister Sukanta Majumdar about including northern West Bengal under the DoNER ministry, Banerjee accused the BJP of attempting to divide the state, "They are talking about dividing Bengal. Somebody from the BJP said divide Assam, someone said divide Bihar. They want to divide the country itself."
Banerjee refrained from using the term "gang" for the BJP, considering it unparliamentary, and instead called them a "tukde-tukde platform," alleging, "They are trying to divide the country."
Earlier, Banerjee labelled the conspiracy as a "geographical and political blockade besides the economic blockade which the Centre has already imposed on Bengal".
Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren To Also Attend NITI Aayog Meeting As Several INDIA Bloc CMs Announce Boycott
CM Mamata Banerjee reiterated her commitment to attending the NITI Aayog meeting to voice her protest. "Hemant (Soren) and I will be present at the meeting. We will speak on behalf of the others (who won’t be present)," she informed, as per PTI.
Several CMs from the INDIA bloc, including Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin (DMK), Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI(M)), Punjab's Bhagwant Mann (Aam Aadmi Party), and all three Congress chief ministers – Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy – had announced their decision to skip the meeting as a mark of protest against the Union budget. They alleged that the budget was "anti-federal" in spirit and "extremely discriminatory" towards their states. However, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren of the JMM is likely to join the meeting despite earlier reports suggesting he might skip it, PTI reported.
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