West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claims her mic was muted during PM Narendra Modi-chaired Niti Aayog meeting, Centre denies
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed her microphone was muted and was not allowed to speak beyond five minutes which forced her to walk out of the Niti Aayog meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
The Centre, however, denied her claims.
▶️ Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch.
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) July 27, 2024
▶️ She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early.
Banerjee was the only opposition-ruled state's CM who attended the meeting.
"I was allowed to speak only for five minutes. Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak. The chief ministers of Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh spoke for 10–12 minutes. I registered my protest and came out," the Trinamool Congress supremo was quoted as saying by India Today.
"I was talking about central funds not being given to West Bengal, this is when they muted my mic," Banerjee said.
The Centre refuted her claims and sid her time was over.
"She was accommodated as the seventh speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early," sources told India Today.
The opposition states boycotted the meeting as a protest against what they called a "discriminatory" Union Budget which was presented by the government this week.
Refusing Banerjee's claim, Centre also issued a fact-check which said: " It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog."
The Centre said her claim was 'misleading'.
"The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it," the PIB Face check said.
"Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch. She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early," the fact checker said.
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