Kolkata: The Centre has turned down West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to depute her Minister of State for Finance (Independent Charge), Chandrima Bhattacharya, and Chief Secretary, H.K. Dwivedi, as representatives from the state for the Niti Aayog meeting scheduled in the national capital on Saturday.
Sources in the state secretariat said that after the Chief Minister decided to abstain from the meeting, a communication was sent to the Union government proposing the names of Bhattacharya and Dwivedi as the representatives of the state for the meeting.
However, a return communique has come from the Union government, stating that only chief ministers can attend the Niti Aayog meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Besides Banerjee, two AAP Chief Ministers — Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann — have also announced their decision to abstain from the meeting.
Initially, Banerjee had decided to attend the meeting. But on May 24, a day after her meeting with Kejriwal and Mann in Kolkata, she announced her decision to skip the meeting.
The Trinamool leadership has also announced its decision to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament House in New Delhi on May 28.
Political observers feel that the decision to boycott the Niti Aayog meeting and the inauguration of the new Parliament House has been prompted by Banerjee’s eagerness to strengthen her anti-BJP and anti-Centre stand.
(IANS)
