In a surprise move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today flew to New Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, breaking ranks with other Opposition leaders who have announced that they would boycott the event.
The meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, will focus on the ‘Vikshit Bharat@2047’ initiative aimed at making India a developed nation by 2047.
Banerjee’s decision to attend marks a notable departure from the stance taken by several Opposition Chief Ministers, including MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) Bhagwant Mann (Punjab) and Sukhvinder Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), who protested the Union Budget 2024-25, citing it as extremely discriminatory towards their States and against federal principles and had announced their decision to skip the meeting as a mark of protest.
Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by her nephew and Trinamool Congress MP-cum-national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, left for Delhi on Friday afternoon, advancing her trip to the national capital by a day.
“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,” the Chief Minister said.
Speaking to the media before leaving for New Delhi, Banerjee said that the NITI Aayog asked to submit the written speech seven days before the meeting, following which the Budget was placed.
“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.