Finance minister refutes Mamata Banerjee's allegations of mic being turned off at meeting

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stormed out of NITI Ayog meeting after allegedly not being allowed to speak and turning off the mic. The central government rejected the allegation. Mamata explained that she was participating in the meeting to point out the government's discrimination against Bengal, when other chief ministers of the 'India' front boycotted the meeting. 'I wanted to speak, but I was allowed to speak for only five minutes. Andhra Chief Minister was given 20 minutes to speak and other Chief Ministers were given ten minutes each. I protested and left,' Mamata accused.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Mamata's allegation was baseless. The time allotted to each chief minister was displayed on a screen in front of the desk. The allegation that the mic was switched off is not true. Nirmala also explained that she spoke at the allotted time. NITI Aayog also stated that Mamata was actually supposed to speak after noon and was honoring the Bengal government's request to do so earlier as she had to return soon. Mamata was the seventh Chief Minister to speak.