Last Updated on 26/07/2024 by Ankita Jain
Mamata Banerjee is finally going to attend the meeting of NITI Aayog. Mamata Banerjee has reached Delhi to participate in the meeting. However, Mamata Banerjee is not the only leader to take such a decision despite being in the INDIA block. Rather, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is also going to participate in the meeting of NITI Aayog.
The meeting of NITI Aayog is going to be held on July 27, 2024, which can be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Attending the meeting of NITI Aayog also means meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The rest of the Chief Ministers of the INDIA alliance have already decided to boycott the NITI Aayog meeting. Mamata Banerjee had decided to attend the NITI Aayog meeting from the very beginning, but before leaving Kolkata for Delhi, the West Bengal Chief Minister cancelled the program – and then made a new program the very next day.
Now only the Chief Ministers of Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and DMK are left among those who are keeping distance from the meeting of NITI Aayog. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have also already told that they are not going to attend the meeting of NITI Aayog. Other Chief Ministers include Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The question arises that why is Mamata Banerjee attending the NITI Aayog meeting regardless of the stand of the Chief Ministers of the opposition INDIA block?
By deciding to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, does Mamata Banerjee want to give any message to the Congress leading the INDIA block, or is there any message for the ruling BJP at the center in this move of Mamata Banerjee?
Why did Mamata Banerjee change her stand repeatedly?
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says that the central government has discriminated against her state in the budget, which she cannot accept under any circumstances. Mamata Banerjee is saying that she does not like discrimination, and that is why she is going to attend the meeting of NITI Aayog to raise her voice.
It is clear that Mamata Banerjee had taken a decision separate from the INDIA block, but after the announcements of the General Budget 2024, she changed her mind and canceled the first decision – but then what happened suddenly that the second decision was also changed quickly?
Mamata Banerjee herself has told this. Mamata Banerjee says, there was no need to come to Delhi, and I had even cancelled the program due to budget. But Abhishek (Banerjee) and others prepared me for this, and I spoke to Hemant Soren. He is also coming.
But Mamata Banerjee has also made it clear what she is going to do in the Niti Aayog meeting. Mamata Banerjee has said that she will sit there for some time, but if she is allowed to speak, she will put forth her point.
Otherwise, Mamata Banerjee will do what she has always done in such situations. Boycott.
The significance of Mamta Banerjee attending the Niti Aayog meeting
Mamata Banerjee, on her part, has given the reason for changing her decision regarding the Niti Aayog meeting and also her stand after attending the meeting – but the real politics behind taking such a step is different.
Mamata Banerjee taking a different stand from the political parties included in the INDIA block is also her political statement, which has many meanings – and hence some questions also arise.
Is Mamata Banerjee using India Block only for her own benefit?
During the Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee had said that if the India Block government is formed, she will support it from outside, but immediately gave a new statement that she is a part of the opposition alliance, meaning if the government is formed, she can join it. That did not happen, but Mamata Banerjee’s view on India Block was revealed.
During the Parliament session, Trinamool Congress has been seen with the opposition. TMC MP Mahua Moitra has also addressed Rahul Gandhi as ‘our leader’. TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s speech in the Lok Sabha has also been seen on the lines of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.
But Mamata Banerjee has shown a different attitude regarding the meeting of NITI Aayog. Mamata Banerjee did not share a single seat in West Bengal with alliance partners in the Lok Sabha elections. Yes, Akhilesh Yadav did give one seat to Mamata Banerjee’s party in UP.
Mamata Banerjee used to attend the meetings of India Block earlier, but ever since she announced to contest the elections alone in West Bengal, she has never attended any meeting. Overall, it is understood that Mamata Banerjee uses India Block by claiming herself to be associated with it due to the compulsions of the opposition.
Mamata Banerjee’s participation in the meeting is one thing, but it is even more important to hear and understand what the Trinamool Congress leader has said about NITI Aayog.
Mamata Banerjee has demanded that the Niti Ayog be removed and the Planning Commission be brought back. Mamata Banerjee says that what does the Niti Ayog do other than calling meetings.
In a way, this demand of Mamta Banerjee is supporting the Congress. After the BJP government was formed at the center in 2014, the Planning Commission was abolished. And in its place, the Niti Aayog was formed in 2015.