West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee with the party's National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee addresses the media at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport before leaving for Delhi, in Kolkata, Friday, July 26, 2024.
PTI
New Delhi: A day ahead of the 9th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday called for the scrapping of the “powerless” body that exists “just for meetings” and bring back the erstwhile Planning Commission.
Mamata and Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren will be breaking ranks with seven other Opposition Chief Ministers, who have announced boycott of the meeting against “discrimination” in union budget, and attend the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise their grievances.
The NITI Aayog meeting’s theme for this year is ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’, with a central focus on making India a developed nation. The meeting aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and state governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms.
The West Bengal Chief Minister said she had second thoughts about attending the meeting on Thursday and delayed her arrival in Delhi by a day but party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and others impressed upon her to be present and air the issues of states being “deprived” of funds.
“If you want to give a special package to your friends, there is no problem with that. But you cannot deprive or discriminate against other states. The Budget has shown that the BJP is only with those who support them,” she told a select group of reporters here.
“I will raise all these issues. I will demand the scrapping of NITI Aayog. It has no power. They cannot do anything. They are just for meetings. I have attended Planning Commission meetings. It should be brought back. Earlier, the state governments and the Planning Commission worked together. Now, there is no hope and scope,” she said.
Since the NITI Aayog has come into existence, Banerjee said that she has “not seen a single work being done” by it because it does not have any power.
The Opposition had earlier attacked the Union Budget 2024 accusing it of discriminating against other states while providing funds and projects for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which are governed by JD(U) and TDP, for the survival of the Modi government.
Asked about why she wasn't joining other I.N.D.I.A. parties in boycotting the meeting, Mamata said there was no coordination on the issue. If there was some consultation, she said she could have considered it but one should understand that every state has its own agenda. She said she had spoken to Soren also and he too will be attending the meeting.
She felt that it is her “duty to raise the voice at least in a common platform”, as “all Opposition-ruled states have been deprived”. She said she will be speaking for all the I.N.D.I.A. parties.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and three Congress Chief Ministers and AAP’s Bhagwant Mann had announced boycotting the event. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan won't be attending the event and he had informed the organisers about it much earlier.