West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi on Saturday. However, sources said that no official statement has been made about who will represent West Bengal in the meeting in the absence of the Chief Minister. Sources were quoted as saying that Chief Secretary Manoj Pant is likely to be present in the meeting. Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Modi, the meeting of the 10th Governing Council of NITI Aayog is going on in the national capital.
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NITI Aayog had earlier said in a statement, “… Governing Council meeting will discuss the state’s approach developed for India developed for 2047.” Since the launch of Operation Sindoor, it will also be the first major meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of the States and Union Territories. At the same time, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasami, who led the NDA alliance led by AINRC in the Union Territory, did not attend the meeting of Nitasami NITI Aayog.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did not attend the meeting citing a predetermined schedule, but he sent his speech to study in the council. Similarly, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is a senior Marxist leader, sent his cabinet colleague KN Balgopal to represent him in the meeting. BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya described it as “unfortunate” for the people of West Bengal that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee decided not to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, especially when the Chief Minister of many other states was also present in the meeting.
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Bhattacharya said that the people of the state were deprived of not participating in the meeting, because the issues of West Bengal will not arise there. The state government has missed the opportunity to raise many important issues important for West Bengal. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary said, “If she had attended the meeting, the Chief Minister could raise many issues, such as not distributing the central funds required for the development of the state.”