“Will record my voice…”: Mamata Banerjee Heads to Delhi for Niti Ayog Meet, Vows to Raise Bengal’s Concerns

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday departed for New Delhi, announcing her intention to attend the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27. Accompanied by her nephew and Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee asserted that her goal is to ensure West Bengal's concerns are heard at the meeting. Her decision to participate contrasts with several opposition-led states, whose Chief Ministers have opted to boycott the meeting, which is expected to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I had informed earlier that I would go. We were asked to send written speeches seven days ago, after which the Budget was presented. Alongside Bengal, all other Opposition-ruled states have been deprived and a step-motherly attitude has been meted towards them in the Union Budget. We cannot come to terms with this discrimination and such political biasness,” said the Trinamool Congress Supremo. The West Bengal Chief Minister accused the central government of political bias in the recent Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She claimed that the budget unfairly disadvantaged West Bengal and other opposition-ruled states.

Before her departure, Banerjee indicated that if given the opportunity, she would voice her state's issues at the meeting. “I am going to the meeting to record my voice. I will stay there for a while and will record my voice if they allow me to, or else, I will protest and leave. I will try to talk on behalf of my state,” said Banerjee adding that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren would be attending the meeting and implied that Soren would represent the broader opposition perspective.

In addition, Banerjee criticized recent comments by the Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Sukanta Majumdar, who proposed integrating North Bengal into the North Eastern region. “Bengal is being faced with an economic blockade, geographical blockade and political blockade. They want to break the country into pieces. When the parliament is in process the Minister is issuing his own statements and now from different sources, different party members are giving different types of statements to divide Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Bengal. We strongly condemn this attitude. To divide Bengal means to divide our country India. We do not support this,” said Mamata Banerjee condemning these remarks as divisive, arguing that such actions undermine national unity.