West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, (PTI)
Party insiders say the chief minister is keen to attend the meeting, unlike her INDIA bloc counterparts, because she wants to demand funds from the Centre
Mamata Banerjee may be a part of the INDIA bloc but the West Bengal chief minister has decided to carve a niche away from the opposition alliance with her decision to attend the Niti Aayog meeting in Delhi.
Congress-ruled opposition states as well as other partners like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann have decided to boycott the meeting after they slammed the Centre for its biased budget to accommodate allies JD(U) and TDP.
Banerjee will reach Delhi on July 26 and hold a meeting with her party MPs. She will then attend the Aayog meeting on 27th and place her demands in front of the Union government.
Political experts say the move does not mean cracks have emerged in the INDIA bloc but the chief minister is making a point by attending the meeting to demand funds for Bengal. While the Trinamool Congress says it’s is with the Congress, it will not always toe the line of the Grand Old Party. Banerjee’s invite to Akhilesh Yadav for the Martyrs’ Day rally and apparent snub to Congress were also a message that regional satraps are strong and will not be dictated by Congress.
According to TMC, the Centre owes Bengal Rs 1,76,000 crore and the state is struggling to pay Awas Yojana and MGNREGA dues. Party insiders believe the Aayog meeting will be the right platform for the chief minister to raise the issue.
Banerjee, before leaving for Delhi, said she will protest at the Niti Aayog meeting against the political discrimination meted out to Bengal. “The attitude of their ministers and BJP leaders is such that they want to divide Bengal. Along with economic blockade, they want to impose a geographical blockade. Different leaders are giving different statements to divide Jharkhand, Bihar, and Bengal. We condemn this. We want to record our voice and I will be there to do so.”
