Nitish skips Niti Aayog meeting, sends deputy CMs to represent Bihar

The Niti Aayog meeting on Saturday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, turned into a political slugfest. First, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the meeting in a fit of anger and now speculations are rife about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s absence in the meeting.

Nitish, a key ally of the BJP-led NDA, reportedly skipped the meeting in New Delhi and instead sent deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha to represent the state, officials told PTI.

The Niti Aayog meeting was attended by most BJP-run state chief ministers as well as NDA partners including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. However, the Opposition, except Mamata Banerjee, boycotted the meeting.

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Why did Kumar skip the meeting?

While it’s unclear why the Janata Dal (United) supremo was absent from the meeting, party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “This is not the first time that the CM is not attending the Nitish Aayog meeting. The CM did not attend the meeting earlier as well, and Bihar was represented by the then deputy CM. This time also both the Dy CMs went to attend the meeting.”

Rejecting any ideas of a rift between the BJP and JD(U), Neeraj said, “Besides, there are four Union ministers from Bihar who are members of the Aayog and they will be present in the meeting. There is nothing to say on this.”

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Nitish Kumar, on Saturday, chaired a separate meeting on Jharkhand elections at his official residence and it was attended by JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is in charge of Jharkhand, Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary and Rajya Sabha MP Khiru Mahto, who heads the JD(U)’s unit in the adjoining state, among others.

After the meeting, Mahto told reporters, “We are looking forward to contesting the Jharkhand assembly polls in alliance with the BJP.”

“Among the issues discussed with the party’s supreme leader was the inclusion of Kurmis in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Kurmi leaders in Jharkhand have been raising the demand for some time and today it was seconded by delegates from West Bengal. We will now move forward by raising the issue in Parliament and before President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” he added.

What happened in the meeting?

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who came to Delhi on Friday, walked out of the Niti Aayog meeting after alleging that she was not allowed to speak and that her mic was turned off.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party has fact-checked her on the issue, the Opposition has joined Banerjee’s chorus in accusing the central government.

Apart from this, PM Modi, during the meeting, said, “We are moving in the right direction. We have defeated once in hundred years pandemic. Our people are full of enthusiasm and confidence. We can fulfil our dreams of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 with combined effort of all States. Viksit States will make Viksit Bharat.”

He added, “This decade is of changes, technological & geo-political, and also of opportunities. India should grab these opportunities and make our policies conducive for international investments. This is the stepping stone for progress to make India a developed nation.”

With inputs from agencies