Editor's Pick | Mamata Banerjee boycotts Niti Aayog meeting

In the first meeting of the Niti Aayog under the Modi 3.0 government on Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the lone representative of the Opposition bloc at the meeting, accused the government of switching off the mic during her speech. Thus, Ms. Banerjee held that she opted to boycott the meeting. Explaining the chain of events, the Trinamool Congress founder enumerated that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu spoke for 20 minutes, whilst Chief Ministers of Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh also spoke for 10 to 12 minutes each. However, Ms Banerjee stated that she 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,” she held. As many as 10 states and union territories did not participate in the ninth Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog. The absentee list includes Chief Ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Puducherry. Congress had boycotted the meeting over alleged discrimination in allocation of funds to non-NDA governed states. In fact, in a post on ‘X’, Congress’ General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh outlined the Niti Aayog’s functioning as a “drumbeater for the non-biological PM”. Furthermore, in a show of support to the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Ramesh termed the treatment as “unacceptable”. However, President of the Congress’ unit in West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that Ms Banerjee may be lying. The government has rejected the charge as “misleading”. It argued that she was accommodated early as the 7th speaker on an official request because she had to return early. Furthermore, it held, “The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it,” it explained. The Hindu’s Profiles Nicolas Maduro | Chavism’s designated successor Gautam Gambhir | A steady presence The Hindu’s Daily Quiz What is the deadline for filing income tax returns? October 15 July 31 July 15 August 30 To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 28 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 28 July 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Mamata Banerjee boycotts Niti Aayog meeting In the first meeting of the Niti Aayog under the Modi 3.0 government on Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the lone representative of the Opposition bloc at the meeting, accused the government of switching off the mic during her speech. Thus, Ms. Banerjee held that she opted to boycott the meeting.  Explaining the chain of events, the Trinamool Congress founder enumerated that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu spoke for 20 minutes, whilst Chief Ministers of Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh also spoke for 10 to 12 minutes each. However, Ms Banerjee stated that she 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,” she held.  As many as 10 states and union territories did not participate in the ninth Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog. The absentee list includes Chief Ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Puducherry.  Congress had boycotted the meeting over alleged discrimination in allocation of funds to non-NDA governed states. In fact, in a post on ‘X’, Congress’ General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh outlined the Niti Aayog’s functioning as a “drumbeater for the non-biological PM”. Furthermore, in a show of support to the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Ramesh termed the treatment as “unacceptable”. However, President of the Congress’ unit in West Bengal [Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that Ms Banerjee may be lying.](  The government has rejected the charge as “misleading”. It argued that she was accommodated early as the 7th speaker on an official request because she had to return early. Furthermore, it held, “The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it,” it explained. The Hindu’s Profiles [Arrow][Nicolas Maduro | Chavism’s designated successor]( [Arrow][Gautam Gambhir | A steady presence]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz What is the deadline for filing income tax returns? - October 15 - July 31 - July 15 - August 30 To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[Watch: What’s strategic autonomy and why is it important for India?] Watch: What’s strategic autonomy and why is it important for India?]( [[Jharkhand Assembly election: JD(U) stakes claim on 11 seats, list of candidates submitted to Nitish Kumar] Jharkhand Assembly election: JD(U) stakes claim on 11 seats, list of candidates submitted to Nitish Kumar]( [[India needs domestic investments, FDI will follow, says Congress, slamming PM’s focus on foreign investments] India needs domestic investments, FDI will follow, says Congress, slamming PM’s focus on foreign investments]( [[At NITI Aayog meeting, PM Modi calls for combined efforts of States] At NITI Aayog meeting, PM Modi calls for combined efforts of States]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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