Mamata, Vijayan among absent opposition CMs as PM Modi chairs NITI Aayog meet

NEW DELHI: Chief ministers of four opposition-ruled states skipped the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Ayog on Saturday in the national capital. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss "Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047."

The council is the apex body of the Niti Ayog, which includes chief ministers, lieutenant governors of all states and Union territories along with several Union ministers. Prime Minister is the head of Niti Ayog.

This was the first major meeting of the PM with chief ministers of all states and lieutenant governors after US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs and Operation Sindoor.

CMs who skipped the meeting

Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was marked absent in the meeting, sources in the state secretariat told news agency PTI. Although the reason behind Mamata's decision not to participate in the meeting was undisclosed.

There was no official statement about who would represent West Bengal in the meeting in the absence of the chief minister, the sources said.

Chief secretary Manoj Pant is likely to be present in the meeting, sources added.

BJP attacked Mamata for skipping the meeting and said that she should have attended the meeting to find out avenues on how the Bengal hurdles could be overcome.

“As it is, the financial vulnerability of West Bengal is at an alarming stage. Unemployment and migrant workers from West Bengal are the major problems. In such a situation, the Chief Minister should have attended the meeting to find out avenues on how these hurdles could be overcome by working closely with the Union government. But she chose to skip the meeting to satisfy her political ego and sacrificed the interest of the state," he said. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said.

Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan skipped the Niti Ayog meeting and designated his state finance minister Balagopal to go in his stead. No reason was given for the CM not attending the meeting.

However, since it is a meeting of CMs, it is not clear whether Balagopal would be able to attend it, the sources said.

Last year, Vijayan had not attended a Niti Aayog meeting of CMs in Delhi and had sent Balagopal.

Siddaramaiah

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah also skipped the meeting citing his "prior engagement in Mysuru."

"The chief minister is not boycotting the meeting, but he has a prior engagement in Mysuru," sources told PTI.

Source, however, added that the CM has sent his address to the Governing Council. He, however, did not clarify who would present Siddaramaiah's address in the meeting.

N Rangasamy

Puducherry chief minister N Rangasamy has once again skipped the governing council meeting without giving any reason for abstaining. Rangasamy had also skipped the meeting last year.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi batted for cooperation between the Centre and states to achieve the national goals, as he chaired a meeting of Niti Aayog.

"If Centre and states work together like Team India, no goal is impossible," Prime Minister Modi said at Niti Aayog governing council meeting.

He also said, "Viksit Bharat is the goal of every Indian. When every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit. This is the aspiration of its 140 crore citizens."

The Prime Minister also urged states to focus on tourism development. "States should develop at least one tourist destination per state at par with global standards and by providing all facilities and infrastructure. One State: One Global Destination. It would also lead to development of the neighbouring cities as tourist places," PM Modi said.