• Hindi
  • Heritage Edge
  • Sports Edge
  • Wildlife Edge
SHARP. BITTER. NEUTRAL.
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
The Edge Media
Thursday, October 2, 2025
  • Home
  • National Edge
  • State Edge
  • Political Edge
  • World Edge
  • Entertainment Edge
  • Business Edge
  • Sports Edge
  • Home
  • National Edge
  • State Edge
  • Political Edge
  • World Edge
  • Entertainment Edge
  • Business Edge
  • Sports Edge
No Result
View All Result
The Edge Media
No Result
View All Result
Home Political Edge

Mamata Banerjee refuses to attend ‘fruitless’ NITI Aayog meeting, says body has no real financial powers in letter to Modi

The Edge Media by The Edge Media
6 years ago
in Political Edge
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare via TelegramSend To WhatsApp

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that she won’t attend the NITI Aayog meeting. “Given that the NITI Aaayog has no financial powers and the power to support state plans, it is fruitless for me to attend the meeting,” she said.

The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, several Union ministers, and senior government officials. This will be the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government.

Banerjee has listed out nine points to justify the reasons behind her skipping the crucial meet after the reappointment of the planning body. She compared it to the erstwhile planning commission and said that while the older model followed a bottom-up approach, where the body would hold regular meetings with state governments to solve problems and discuss resource mobilisation, the new structure is powerless.

She claimed that several former NITI Aayog members have made statements demanding that they be given some powers to allocate funds for developmental work in states.

This was not the first time, Mamata opted out of the meeting, expressing displeasure over the dissolution of the Planning Commission and creation of a new structure. West Bengal had zero representation in the
first-ever meet of NITI Aayog  as the chief minister skipped it as a mark of protest against dissolution of the planning commission.

In her letter, Banerjee said the formation of NITI Aayog was unilaterally announced without any discussion with chief ministers.

Banerjee’s decision of not attending NITI Aayog meeting comes amid a heightened political tussle between the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal. With the saffron party bagging 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections, its leaders have asserted that they would overthrow the Trinamool Congress government in the 2021 Assembly polls. The TMC, which had won 34 seats in 2014, was able to secure 22 seats this time.

Banerjee also suggested that focus should be shifted to the Inter-State Council (ISC) to deepen cooperative federalism and strengthen federal polity.

“The experience of the last four and half years we had with the NITI Aayog, brings me back to my earlier suggestion to you that we focus on the Inter-State Council constituted under Article 263 of the constitution, with appropriate modifications, to enable the ISC to discharge its augmented range of functions as the nodal entity of the country,” she said. “This will deepen cooperative federalism and strengthen federal polity. May I also reiterate that the National Development Council, which has been a quiet burial, may also be subsumed within the broadened constitutional body of the Inter-State Council.”

She cited examples of statements made by NITI Aayog officials and a former union minister stressing the need to give the think-tank the power to allocate funds, as part of the efforts to address regional imbalances.

On Thursday, the prime minister reconstituted the NITI Aayog, dropping Bibek Debroy while retaining other full-time members and including home minister Amit Shah as an ex-officio member.

Rajiv Kumar will continue as vice-chairman of the body, along with other full-time members VK Saraswat, Ramesh Chand, and VK Paul, an official statement said. Debroy was appointed full-time member when the Aayog was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on 1 January, 2015.

Besides Shah, other three ex-officio members are Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Special invitees to the Aayog are Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh.

NITI Aayog is the premier policy think tank of the government and provides both “directional and policy inputs”. While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Central government, it also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and states. The Aayog was set up in 2015 after replacing the Planning Commission, a vestige of the socialist era.

Arvind Panagariya was the first vice-chairman of the Aayog. He was replaced by Kumar in September 2017.

Modi is set to chair the fifth meeting of the NITI Aayog’s Governing Council on 15 June to discuss various issues regarding the country’s development.

Previous Post

Narendra Modi forms two Cabinet panels under his chairmanship to deal with slow economic growth, unemployment

Next Post

Four Kerala districts on orange alert for 10 June as monsoon onset likely over weekend; rainfall over state to intensify from tomorrow

Related News

The Edge Magazine – September 2025

The Edge Magazine – September 2025

by The Edge Media
September 3, 2025
0

What’s Next? SC Revises Stray Dog Order, Directs Sterilisation and Return but Dog Lovers, NGOs Asked to Deposit Costs

What’s Next? SC Revises Stray Dog Order, Directs Sterilisation and Return but Dog Lovers, NGOs Asked to Deposit Costs

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

The Supreme Court has revised its August 11 order on stray dogs, ruling that sterilised and vaccinated animals be released...

Supreme Court Orders Aggressive Sterilisation to Control Stray Dog Population: A Landmark Verdict Ensures Public Safety & Animal Welfare

Supreme Court Orders Aggressive Sterilisation to Control Stray Dog Population: A Landmark Verdict Ensures Public Safety & Animal Welfare

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court of India has directed aggressive sterilisation of stray dogs under the ABC Rules,...

“Marriage Is Not for Absolute Freedom” – Supreme Court’s Bold Statement on Relationships

“Marriage Is Not for Absolute Freedom” – Supreme Court’s Bold Statement on Relationships

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court stated that marriage requires compromise and responsibility, warning against unrealistic expectations of absolute...

BJP Leader Rekha Gupta Gets Z+ Security Cover Amid Threat Concerns

BJP Leader Rekha Gupta Gets Z+ Security Cover Amid Threat Concerns

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

BJP leader Rekha Gupta has been granted Z+ category security cover following intelligence warnings of threats, sparking political debate.

India to Launch First-Ever Human Space Mission ‘Gaganyaan’ in December 2025

India to Launch First-Ever Human Space Mission ‘Gaganyaan’ in December 2025

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

ISRO has announced December 2025 as the launch date for India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, marking a new era...

Discussion about this post

Recommended

Uttar Pradesh: 125 fresh COVID-19 cases, total count reaches to 974

5 years ago

Katrina Kaif shares photos of her day out in Russia

4 years ago

Popular News

  • The Edge Magazine – September 2025

    The Edge Magazine – September 2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What’s Next? SC Revises Stray Dog Order, Directs Sterilisation and Return but Dog Lovers, NGOs Asked to Deposit Costs

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Supreme Court Orders Aggressive Sterilisation to Control Stray Dog Population: A Landmark Verdict Ensures Public Safety & Animal Welfare

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • “Marriage Is Not for Absolute Freedom” – Supreme Court’s Bold Statement on Relationships

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • BJP Leader Rekha Gupta Gets Z+ Security Cover Amid Threat Concerns

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hindi
  • Heritage Edge
  • Sports Edge
  • Wildlife Edge
SHARP. BITTER. NEUTRAL.

© 2024 The Edge Media All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National Edge
  • State Edge
  • Political Edge
  • World Edge
  • Entertainment Edge
  • Business Edge
  • Sports Edge

© 2024 The Edge Media All Rights Reserved.