'Was not allowed to speak': Mamata walks out of Niti Aayog, Centre fact-checks her

NEW DELHI : West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visibly agitated, walked out of the Niti Aayog meeting on Saturday and accused the central government of "insulting" her deliberately by not providing enough time to talk, while NDA members present at the meeting were given ample time to do the same. The Centre, however, refuted the allegations.

The TMC supremo, who did not take the same route as her colleagues in the INDIA bloc to boycott the meeting, pointed out that she was the sole opposition member and called out on the "discriminatory action" to stop her from talking as an "insult" to not only Bengal but also to regional parties.

"I wanted to speak but I was allowed to speak only for 5 minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes. I was the only one from the opposition who was participating but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting."

I was speaking, my mic was stopped. I said why did you stop me, why are you discriminating, she added.

"Only I am there from the opposition and you are stopping me from speaking...This is not only the insult of Bengal but also of all regional parties," the West Bengal CM charged.


Centre refutes allegations

Centre rebuffed her claims that the claim that the micrphone was muted during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of Niti Aayog and called it "misleading."

"The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it," the Centre said.

The Central government also refuted claims that she was not allowed to speak. The Centre said that she was chosen as the 7th speaker only on an official request made by the West Bengal government and not by the Central govt's decision.

▶️ Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch.

▶️ She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early.

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

Meanwhile, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also defended the government and claimed that the West Bengal CM's allegations were false. The finance minister, who recently presented the seventh consecutive budget said "Every CM was given the allotted time and that was displayed on the screen which was present before every table...She said in the media that her mic was put off. That is completely false. Every CM was given their due time to speak...It's unfortunate that the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has claimed that her mic was switched off which is not true...She should speak the truth behind this rather than again build a narrative based on falsehood."