"Facts and not interpretations": NITI Aayog CEO Refutes Mamata Banerjee's Allegations on Speaking Time

NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam has disputed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegation that she was allotted only five minutes to speak, while other state chief ministers were given up to 15 minutes. She subsequently walked out of the meeting. "I'm just putting facts on the ground, no interpretations,” said Subrahmanyam stating that the clarification aims to set the record straight on the events that transpired during the meeting. 

“The chief minister of West Bengal had made a request to be given a turn before lunchtime. I'm just putting facts on the ground, no interpretations. It was a very clear request from their side because normally we would have gone alphabetically…She made her statement. Every chief minister is allotted seven minutes and there's just a clock on top of the screen which tells you the time that is remaining. So it goes from seven to six to five to four to three. At the end of that, it shows zero. Zero and nothing else. Nothing else has happened other than that...Then she said look, I would have liked to speak for more time, but I'll not speak anymore. That was it. There was nothing more,” said the NITI Aayog CEO. 

BVR Subrahmanyam stated that Mamata Banerjee made her points and left because she had to catch a flight back to Calcutta. “She made her points and we respectfully heard and noted points, which will be reflected in a minute...Just to mention the fact the chief secretary continued to attend and he was in the room even after she left because she had to catch a flight to Calcutta..,” he added. 

Clarifying reports suggesting that Chief Ministers of opposition-run states boycotted the NITI Aayog meeting in protest of the Union Budget, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam stated that there were numerous last-minute withdrawals, but not all were motivated by a desire to boycott."We had a lot of last-minute dropouts; I have speeches of some states who had not participated- Jharkhand and Puducherry. Not all have dropped out for boycott reasons. For those who did not participate, I always say that it is their loss. The room is richer if they are there both for us and for them. Nobody is going to be excluded if they are not going to participate,” said Subrahmanyam. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the NITI Aayog meeting in protest after allegedly being restricted to a five-minute speaking slot, while other chief ministers were allowed up to 15 minutes. Feeling disrespected and discriminated against as the sole opposition representative, Banerjee criticized the government's "political bias." “I was the only representation from the opposition. I told them while you are in Government; you have to take care of all. Their chief ministers spoke for 12 minutes, 15 minutes but during my turn, they stopped me in five minutes. This is their political bias. The budget has already deprived the states not ruled by BJP. I informed them that Bengal’s dues are pending for three years” said Mamata Banerjee.