Several INDIA bloc CMs skipped the meeting as a mark of protest against the Union budget which, they alleged, was "anti-federal" in spirit and "extremely discriminatory" towards their states.
The list includes Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin of the DMK, Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party and all three Congress chief ministers – Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telegana's Revanth Reddy.
Only, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee showed up from the Opposition.
The meeting focuses on making India a developed nation by 2047. It aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and state governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions.
The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog.
The meeting also focusses on recommendations of the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December last year.
During the conference, recommendations were made on five key themes--drinking water: access, quantity, and quality; electricity: quality, efficiency, and reliability; health: accessibility, affordability, and quality of care; schooling: access and quality and land and property: accessibility, digitiszation, registration, and mutation.
A vision document is being prepared to help India become a developed economy of USD 30 trillion by 2047, the 100th year of its independence.
In 2023, NITI Aayog was entrusted with the task of consolidating the 10 sectoral thematic visions into a combined vision for Viksit Bharat @2047.
The vision encompasses various aspects of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance, among other.
Nitish to skip Niti Aayog meeting
Also, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not be attending the Niti Aayog meeting.
The state will be represented at the meeting by deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.
The exact cause for Kumar's absence from the crucial meeting could not be known immediately.
The meeting is held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I shall never attend a NITI Ayog meeting in future", Banerjee told reporters after emerging from the meeting.
Banerjee said when asked to speak at the meeting, she said the union government must not discriminate between states.
"A government cannot be run like this. It must treat all states as equal," Banerjee said.
Banerjee said her microphone was switched off as soon as she raised the issue of discrimination.
"Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled states and of states ruled by parties having alliance with the BJP were allowed to speak for 15 to 20 minutes without any interruption," Banerjee said.
"I was the only CM from an Opposition party present in the meeting. They ought to have been happy about it and allowed me to speak," Banerjee said.
Banerjee said the treatment meted out to her was "an insult to all regional parties".
Opposition parties earlier alleged that the Budget allocations were tilted in favour of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar since the BJP government in Delhi is dependent on the support of the ruling parties of these two states.
The Congress also issued a statement earlier saying Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states would not be attending the NITI Ayog meeting to protest against the discriminatory nature of the latest Union Budget.
