West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will skip the Niti Aayog meeting on May 27. She had initially decided to attend the meeting, but dropped the idea after assessing that she will be unable to present the state’s demands before the central government.
According to sources, Banerjee felt that she would not get an opportunity to speak for West Bengal even as the tussle between the Centre and the state intensifies by the day. Experts said her decision not to attend the meeting was significant in the backdrop of the opposition parties inching towards a unity movement. The decision came a day after the Banerjee-led TMC announced that it will boycott the inauguration of the new parliament building in the national capital.
The Trinamool Congress government has time and again claimed that it is yet to receive central funds but the ruling BJP has said the state government has been incapable of providing utilisation reports.
Only on Tuesday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal met Banerjee and the two unitedly said they will fight together to oust the BJP government at the centre. Reacting to the CM’s decision, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “She can’t give details of the money spent for her to receive central government funds; that’s why she is not going.”