You were not there at all… Finance Minister spoke on Jairam Ramesh’s claim regarding Niti Aayog meeting

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday criticized Congress leader Jairam Ramesh for his/her remarks on the Niti Aayog meeting. Ramesh had described the behavior with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog as ‘unacceptable’. Ramesh wrote on X, ‘Ever since the establishment of Niti Aayog 10 years ago, it has been an attached office of the PMO and has been working to beat the trumpet for the PM. It has not contributed in any way to advancing cooperative federalism. Its functioning has been clearly partisan, and it has not been professional and independent at all. The Congress leader alleged, ‘It (Niti Aayog) suppresses all different and dissenting views, which is the essence of an open democracy. Its meetings are a spectacle. Today, its behavior with the West Bengal CM, although in line with Niti Aayog, is unacceptable.’ Finance Minister Sitharaman responded to this by saying that Ramesh was not even present in the meeting. he/she clarified that Mamata Banerjee spoke for the full 7 minutes allotted to each chief minister. he/she also said that some chief ministers were given extra time on their request, and no one had any complaints.

‘We all listened to Hon’ble CM Mamata Banerjee’

The finance minister wrote on Twitter, “Jairam, you were not there! We all listened to Hon’ble CM Mamata Banerjee. She spoke for the entire time. The time was shown on the screen in front of our table.” he/she further wrote, “Some other Chief Ministers spoke for more than their allotted time. On their request, additional time was given without any noise. The mics were not switched off, not for anyone, especially not for the Chief Minister of West Bengal.”

Mamata accused of spreading false information about Mike

The Finance Minister also accused Mamata Banerjee of spreading misinformation about the mic. he/she said that no one’s microphone was ever switched off. he/she said that Mamata Banerjee’s claim was only an attempt to please the ‘India’ block. Earlier in the day, Banerjee claimed that she was not given enough time to speak during the Niti Aayog meeting and her mic was switched off.