Centre fact-checks Mamata Banerjee’s claim during key meeting

New Delhi:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged “political discrimination” at a significant NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi organized to enable states to present their grievances to the Prime Minister. Ms Banerjee was the sole Chief Minister from a non-BJP governed state who attended the meeting, as all other INDIA bloc leaders boycotted the event.

Upon exiting the meeting, the Trinamool chief asserted that her microphone was muted and she was given permission to talk for only 5 minutes.

“I expressed that you (Centre) should not show bias against state governments. I desired to speak, but my microphone was muted. I was permitted to speak for only 5 minutes, while those before me spoke for 10-20 minutes,” Ms Banerjee informed reporters.

“I was the solitary one from the opposition who participated but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is demeaning,” she added.

In spite of INDIA bloc Chief Ministers boycotting the meeting, Mamata Banerjee had mentioned that she wished to address ‘political discrimination’ experienced by Bengal in the Union Budget.

The Centre though, rejected Ms Banerjee’s claims and stated that her microphone wasn’t silenced.

“It is being alleged that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was turned off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog. This allegation is Misleading. The clock only displayed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to signal it,” the Press Information Bureau mentioned in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog#PIBFactCheck

▶️ 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

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) July 27, 2024

Other Opposition leaders declined to attend citing the ‘raw deal’ experienced by them in the Union Budget. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin initiated the boycott, followed by Congress-ruled states like Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and the Jharkhand and Kerala chief ministers, Hemant Soren and Pinarayi Vijayan respectively, have also chosen to skip the event.