Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman denied West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claims that her microphone was turned off during the Niti Aayog meeting on Saturday. Meanwhile, PIB did a fact check of the West Bengal CM’s claims and called it “misleading”.
The finance minister said the West Bengal CM’s claims were false and she was given due time to address during the meeting. “CM Mamata Banerjee attended the Niti Aayog meeting and we all heard her. The time allotted for the speech of each chief minister was displayed on a screen on their respective tables,” Sitharaman said.
“She said in the media that her mic was put off. That is completely false. Every CM was given their due time to speak,” the finance minister said. She should speak the truth rather than building a false narrative, Sitharaman said.
The Trinamool Congress leader walked out of the Niti Aayog meeting on Saturday claiming she was allowed to speak only for five minutes and her mic was turned off. Mamata Banerjee was the only chief minister from Opposition to attend the meeting. CMs from Opposition boycotted the meeting alleging the union budget was discriminatory to non-BJP-ruled states.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin voiced his support for his West Bengal counterpart and tweeted, “Is this #CooperativeFederalism? Is this the way to treat a Chief Minister? The Union BJP government must understand that opposition parties are an integral part of our democracy and should not be treated as enemies to be silenced. Cooperative Federalism requires dialogue and respect for all voices.”
The PIB did a fact check of Mamata’s claims and said they were misleading. “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,” it said in a post on X.
“The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it. Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch. She was accommodated as the seventh speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early,” it said.