West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she got just 5 minutes to speak at the NITI Aayog meeting, while a few other chief ministers spoke for 1-20 minutes.
“[Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister] Chandrababu Naidu presented his views for 20 minutes in the meeting, Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal, Chhattisgarh and Goa also presented their views for 15-20 minutes, but I spoke only for 5 minutes and people started interrupting me by ringing the bell," Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata.
"I said okay you don't want to listen to Bengal and I boycotted the meeting and left...," the West Bengal chief minister added.
Earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee alleged that at the NITI Aayog meeting on Saturday, her mic was muted and that she was not allowed to speak for more than five minutes while other chief ministers were given more time.
"I was allowed to speak only for five minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes," Banerjee told reporters after she stormed out of the NITI Aayog meeting.
"I was the only one from the opposition who was participating but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting...," Banerjee said as she walked out mid way from the meeting.
She added, “I have come out boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting. Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak, Chief Ministers of Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes. I was stopped after just 5 minutes. This is unfair.”
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rejected Mamata Banerjee's claim that her microphone was switched off while she was speaking at the NITI Aayog meeting and said that every chief minister was "allotted due time to speak".
Moreover, a PIB fact check today debunked Banerjee's allegations stating that "only the clock showed that her speaking time was over."
"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," the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a post on X.
The NITI Aayog meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
(With inputs from agencies)
