West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the lone member of the opposition to attend the NITI Ayog meeting on 27th July walked out after complaining that she was not allowed to speak. She claimed, “I have come out boycotting the meeting. (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak. The chief ministers of Assam, Goa and Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes. I registered my protest and came out.”
However, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Nandigram assembly constituency MLA Suvendu Adhikari posted a video of India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai from “The Lallantop” asserting that the “walk-out” was a pre-planned drama. He wrote, “The walkout script got leaked one day before the drama unfolded. That too by a credible source with in-house access,” insinuating that All India Trinamool Congress (AITC/TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose told her husband Rajdeep Sardesai about the drama beforehand.
In the footage, Rajdeep Sardesai can be heard stating, “It is a federal country. The meeting of NITI Ayog is scheduled for tomorrow. The opposition chief ministers are not attending except Mamata Banerjee and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. There are rumours that she will stage a walkout after completing her address. This is dangerous and not good for democracy. We want all chief ministers to sit together in the NITI Ayog meeting. There used to be a planning commission earlier.”
The "Walkout Script" got leaked one day before the drama unfolded. That too by a credible source with in-house access:- https://t.co/9OuNZgDDZY pic.twitter.com/stdqMQUGwT
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) July 27, 2024
The TMC supremo also alleged, “I was talking about central funds not being given to West Bengal, this is when they muted my mic. I was stopped from speaking after just five minutes. This is unfair. From the opposition side, I was the only one here. I attended the meeting because cooperative federalism should be strengthened. This is an insult. I will not attend any further meetings,” after she stormed out of the meeting.
She further added, “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. Only I am there from the opposition and you are stopping me from speaking. This is not only an insult to Bengal but also to all regional parties.”
Mamata Banerjee also reaffirmed her demand for the Planning Commission to be reinstated and the Niti Aayog to be abandoned.
Meanwhile, PIB’s fact-checking unit called her claims ‘misleading’ and clarified, “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.” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also confirmed that all CMs were allotted same amount of time to make their presentations.
