Congress divided over Mamata’s walkout: Jairam supports her, Adhir feels she is lying
The Hindu
Mamata Banerjee on July 27 stormed out of the NITI Aayog meeting, alleging that she had not been allowed to complete her remarks and her microphone had been switched off.
On a day when the Congress leadership in Delhi came out in support of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying the treatment she received at the NITI Aayog meeting was “unacceptable”, State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged Ms. Banerjee may be lying.
Ms. Banerjee on July 27 stormed out of the NITI Aayog meeting, alleging that she had not been allowed to complete her remarks and her microphone had been switched off.
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“It muzzles all divergent and dissenting viewpoints, which are the very essence of an open democracy. Its meetings are a farce to be reckoned with. Its treatment of the West Bengal CM today, although typical of the NITI Aayog, is unacceptable,” Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh posted on social media platform X.
Ms. Banerjee also suggested that she was the only Chief Minister present from Opposition-ruled States, and was speaking on behalf of entire Opposition. The Trinamool Congress is part of the Opposition Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc.
Mr. Chowdhury is considered one of most vocal critics of the Trinamool Congress chairperson. He lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Baharampur to the Trinamool’s Yusuf Pathan. The State’s ruling party had placed the blame on Mr. Chowdhury for not being able to stitch an alliance between the two parties in West Bengal.
Mr. Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, alleging that West Bengal was in an “anarchic condition”, and sought the President’s intervention to “restore law and order” in the State.