The Press Information Bureau (PIB) labeled the claim made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about her microphone being switched off during a NITI Aayog meeting as misleading, on Saturday. The central government’s fact-checking body clarified that only the clock indicated her speaking time was over, and the bell wasn’t rung to mark it.
According to PIB, Banerjee was accommodated as the seventh speaker, ahead of her alphabetical turn, which would have come after lunch, due to an official request from the West Bengal government for her early return.
In contrast, Banerjee alleged political discrimination, stating that she was allowed to speak for only five minutes while other chief ministers spoke for longer. She claimed this treatment was an insult and stormed out of the meeting in protest, boycotting the event. Banerjee highlighted that she was the only opposition leader present and criticized the central government for discriminatory practices against state governments, particularly in the allocation of speaking time and funds.
She further argued that her participation aimed to strengthen cooperative federalism and express regional aspirations. Banerjee accused the central government of depriving several states, including West Bengal, of necessary funds and not supporting cooperative federalism, as evidenced by the politically biased Union Budget.
Banerjee also called for giving financial powers to NITI Aayog or reinstating the Planning Commission to ensure equitable treatment of states. Her stance was echoed by other opposition-led states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, and Punjab, whose chief ministers boycotted the meeting in protest against alleged injustices in the 2024 Union Budget.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also refuted Banerjee’s claim, stating that every chief minister, including Banerjee, was allotted their due time to speak. She emphasized that the allotted time was displayed on a screen visible to all attendees and that Banerjee’s assertion of her microphone being switched off was completely false.