As many as 10 states and UTs did not participate in the ninth Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by 26 participants, including Chief Ministers and Lt Governors of UTs, he said while briefing the media. The absentees were Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Puducherry, he said adding “It is their loss if they did not participate.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the meeting, citing unfair treatment and insufficient time to speak. However, NITI Aayog CEO Subrahmanyam stated that adequate time was allocated to all Chief Ministers, including the West Bengal CM.
He said her request to speak before lunch was accepted although her turn would have come in the afternoon going in the alphabetical order of the states.further said that when her time was up, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh just tapped the mic and she stopped speaking and walked out.
Although officials of the West Bengal government continued to attend the meeting, he added. About Bihar, he said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar could not attend the meeting as he was busy with an assembly session in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the ninth governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhavan and highlighted India’s steady growth over the past decade, noting that the Indian economy, which was the 10th largest in the world in 2014, has risen to become the 5th largest by 2024. He emphasized that the shared objective of the government and citizens is now to become the third-largest economy globally.
PM pointed out the substantial progress made in strengthening social and economic infrastructure, transforming India from a largely import-driven country to a major exporter. India has made significant strides in sectors such as defense, space, start-ups, and sports. He commended the confidence and enthusiasm of 1.4 billion citizens, which is fueling the nation’s advancement.
He proposed that achieving Zero Poverty should be a priority for a Viksit Bharat, stressing the need to address poverty at the individual level rather than merely through programs. Tackling poverty from the grassroots, he noted, would have a transformative impact on the country.
