The NITI Aayog’s governing council meeting was boycotted by 7 CMs on Saturday, and the BJP blasted the chief ministers for their anti-people and irresponsible action.
Seven Chief ministers- Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, Bhagwant Mann of Punjab, Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, K Chandrashekar Rao of Telangana, Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan, Nitish Kumar of Bihar and Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala did not attend the meeting of the Niti Aayog. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who is on a visit to Japan and Singapore, was also not present at today’s meeting.
The meeting, whose goal is to make India a developed country by 2047, started here on Saturday. Participants discussed a range of topics, including infrastructure development, women’s empowerment, skill development, and health.
Senior BJP politician and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a news conference that the NITI Aayog is a crucial organisation for identifying the overall goal, framework, and road map for the growth of the nation.
He said that the eighth NITI Aayog governing council meeting is scheduled to cover up to 100 topics, but only the chief ministers of eight states are expected to attend.
Among those not present at the meeting are chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, and Mamata Banerjee.
“Why are they not coming to attend the meeting where 100 issues are to be discussed. If such a large number of chief ministers do not participate, they are not bringing the voice of their states,” Prasad said.
He further said, “It is very irresponsible and unfortunate as well as these people show their anti feelings against the party of no significance. “How far will you go in opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi?” the BJP leader asked.
“You will get more opportunities to oppose Modi. But why are you causing harm to the people of your state?” he questioned.
This decision to boycott the meeting by 7 chief ministers is totally irresponsible and is also against the public interest and in the interest of people they govern in their states, Prasad said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired the eighth governing council meeting of the Niti Aayog. Themed on ‘Viksit Bharat @2047: Role of Team India’, the meeting was held at the new Convention Centre in the national capital’s Pragati Maidan. As the chairman of NITI Aayog, PM Modi presided over the meeting, which deliberated on issues related to health, skill development, women empowerment and infrastructure development, with an aim to make India a developed nation by 2047.
The participation of Chief Ministers/Lt Governors of all States and Union Territories, Union Ministers as ex-officio Members, and the Vice Chairman and Members of NITI Aayog were seen.
As a preparatory prelude to the 8th Governing Council Meeting, the second Chief Secretaries Conference was held in January 2023, where these themes were extensively discussed.
“Wide-ranging stakeholder consultations and brainstorming sessions with subject experts, academia and practitioners were held prior to the Conference in order to gain well-rounded grassroots-level perspectives,” it further said.