'Walkout was well-thought-out strategy': Chirag Paswan refutes Mamata's mike-off claim at NITI Aayog meet
On Saturday, Banerjee walked out of a NITI Aayog meeting held in Delhi and claimed that she was stopped midway through her speech, but the government refused the charge saying her speaking time was over.
- Jul 28, 2024,
- Updated Jul 28, 2024 11:40 AM IST
Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's charge that her mike was turned off during the Niti Aayog meeting. "It's a completely false allegation that anyone's mic was switched off in the NITI Aayog meeting. The way West Bengal's CM Mamata Banerjee aggressively left the meeting, I think this behaviour was wrong," he said while speaking to reporters.
"It seems as if it was a well-thought-out strategy of the opposition to create chaos and to draw attention towards her. If any of the states think that they have been subjected to injustice, NITI Aayog is that forum where you can raise that issue," the LJP leader said.
On Saturday, Banerjee walked out of a NITI Aayog meeting held in Delhi and claimed that she was stopped midway through her speech, but the government refused the charge saying her speaking time was over.
When asked about what happened there at the meet, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said every chief minister gets an allotted time to speak and when their time is over, the screen in front of them becomes 'red'. The person who manages the meeting tells the speaker that his/her time is over. After this, she said, all chief ministers ask for 1 more minute and then continue, and that 1 minute becomes 5 or 10 minutes.
The Finance Minister said that when Banerjee's allotted time was over, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was managing the meeting, tapped the screen to tell her that her time was over. At this, Sitharaman said, Mamata Banerjee stopped and chose to not speak further. The West Bengal chief minister then got up and left the meeting.
Sitharaman said Banerjee could have asked for more time and spoke and there was no way to stop her as this was the practice. The finance minister said she was stunned to hear that her mike was switched off.
After walking out of the meeting, Banerjee said her microphone was switched off after only five minutes, while other chief ministers, including from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, were allowed to speak for longer durations. "This is insulting. I will not attend any further meetings," she told reporters.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's charge that her mike was turned off during the Niti Aayog meeting. "It's a completely false allegation that anyone's mic was switched off in the NITI Aayog meeting. The way West Bengal's CM Mamata Banerjee aggressively left the meeting, I think this behaviour was wrong," he said while speaking to reporters.
"It seems as if it was a well-thought-out strategy of the opposition to create chaos and to draw attention towards her. If any of the states think that they have been subjected to injustice, NITI Aayog is that forum where you can raise that issue," the LJP leader said.
On Saturday, Banerjee walked out of a NITI Aayog meeting held in Delhi and claimed that she was stopped midway through her speech, but the government refused the charge saying her speaking time was over.
When asked about what happened there at the meet, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said every chief minister gets an allotted time to speak and when their time is over, the screen in front of them becomes 'red'. The person who manages the meeting tells the speaker that his/her time is over. After this, she said, all chief ministers ask for 1 more minute and then continue, and that 1 minute becomes 5 or 10 minutes.
The Finance Minister said that when Banerjee's allotted time was over, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was managing the meeting, tapped the screen to tell her that her time was over. At this, Sitharaman said, Mamata Banerjee stopped and chose to not speak further. The West Bengal chief minister then got up and left the meeting.
Sitharaman said Banerjee could have asked for more time and spoke and there was no way to stop her as this was the practice. The finance minister said she was stunned to hear that her mike was switched off.
After walking out of the meeting, Banerjee said her microphone was switched off after only five minutes, while other chief ministers, including from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, were allowed to speak for longer durations. "This is insulting. I will not attend any further meetings," she told reporters.