Mamata Banerjee Calls for Scrapping NITI Aayog, Restoring Planning Commission

New Delhi July 26 2024 : In a statement ahead of the NITI Aayog meeting on July 27, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for the dissolution of the NITI Aayog and the reinstatement of the Planning Commission. Banerjee, in Delhi to attend the meeting, criticized the Modi government’s public policy think tank, arguing that it lacks financial powers and effectiveness.

Banerjee accused the BJP-led NDA of presenting a “politically very biased budget” that discriminates against opposition-ruled states. “They have formed the government but they don’t have the people’s mandate,” she said, asserting that the BJP has not secured a majority as a single party since coming to power in 2014.

Despite other INDIA bloc chief ministers choosing to skip the NITI Aayog meeting, Banerjee decided to attend, emphasizing the importance of voicing concerns on a common platform. She explained, “I thought it is my duty to raise this voice at least on a common platform though I know the NITI Aayog has no financial powers.”

Banerjee lamented the lack of progress under NITI Aayog, contrasting it with the Planning Commission, which she said allowed state governments to discuss issues and facilitated cooperation across various sectors. “Since the NITI Aayog has been planned, I have not seen a single work being done because they don’t have any power,” she stated. “Earlier, there was a Planning Commission. As a chief minister… at that time I saw there was a system.”

Banerjee urged the government to “stop this NITI Aayog,” claiming it only holds meetings annually without any substantial impact. “Please bring back the Planning Commission again,” she urged.

Several chief ministers from the opposition INDIA bloc, including Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, and Congress leaders Siddaramaiah from Karnataka, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from Himachal Pradesh, and Revanth Reddy from Telangana, are not attending the meeting, reflecting a broader dissent against the BJP’s policies.