Amid INDIA bloc’s boycott, Mamta Banerjee, BJP CMs arrive in Delhi to attend NITI Aayog meet

Despite the INDIA bloc’s boycott, Mamata Banerjee and BJP Chief Ministers have arrived in Delhi for the NITI Aayog meeting.

Several Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled states reached the national capital late on Friday to attend today’s NITI Aayog meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, upon his arrival, stated that he plans to present the issues facing Goa at the NITI Aayog meeting. “The NITI Aayog meeting will be led by PM Modi. We will discuss Goa’s demands and issues. After this, there will be a Chief Ministers Conference where the PM reviews 13 flagship programs. Goa has actively participated in these programs. Additionally, our government has announced a 10 percent reservation under the Agniveer scheme for uniformed services like police, fire, and forest services,” he said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai also mentioned that the meeting will be chaired by PM Modi and that both Deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma will attend as well.

Other Chief Ministers who have arrived in Delhi include Odisha’s Mohan Charan Majhi, Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde, Gujarat’s Bhupendra Patel, Rajasthan’s Bhajanlal Sharma, Meghalaya’s Conrad Sangma, and Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre. This year’s theme is ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’, focusing on transforming India into a developed nation. The meeting will discuss the vision document for Viksit Bharat @2047.

While several Chief Ministers have agreed to attend, some non-BJP Chief Ministers have opted out, citing dissatisfaction with the Union Budget. All Chief Ministers from the INDIA bloc, except West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, will not attend. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin initially announced the boycott in Chennai, followed by Congress Chief Ministers from Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, expressing solidarity with the INDIA bloc, has decided that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will skip the meeting. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to miss the meeting.

Surprisingly, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did arrive in Delhi and plans to protest against what she perceives as political discrimination against Bengal. “I will protest the political bias against Bengal at the NITI Aayog meeting. The budget has been unfair to Bengal and other opposition states, and we cannot accept that,” she said.