Banerjee Walks Out of NITI Aayog Meeting

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that she was unfairly stopped midway through her speech and her microphone was muted. Banerjee claimed she was given only five minutes to speak, whereas other chief ministers were allowed significantly more time. The central government, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, refuted her allegations, stating that her speaking time was simply over and her microphone was not turned off. Opposition leaders criticized the incident, with Tamil Nadu's M.K. Stalin condemning the alleged mistreatment and calling for respectful dialogue. Meanwhile, the BJP accused Banerjee of staging a political drama, while CPI(M) questioned her motive for attending. Banerjee also criticized the Union Budget as biased and reiterated a call for the Planning Commission to be reinstated.