At least four chief ministers, including three from the Congress party, have decided to boycott the upcoming NITI Aayog meeting in protest against what they perceive as a ‘discriminatory’ Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23.
After Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on July 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair Niti Aayog’s ninth Governing Council meeting on July 27, which will discuss the ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ document to make India a developed nation.
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The council, the apex body of Niti Aayog, includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers.
In 2023, Niti Aayog was tasked with integrating 10 sectoral thematic visions into a unified vision for India to achieve the status of a USD 30 trillion developed economy by 2047, marking the nation’s 100th year of independence.
Termed as Viksit Bharat @2047, this comprehensive vision aims to encompass economic growth, social advancement, environmental sustainability, and effective governance, among other crucial facets of development. The initiative seeks to chart a transformative path for India, aligning diverse sectors towards sustainable and inclusive progress over the next decades.
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CMs to boycott NITI Aayog meeting
At least four chief ministers, including three from the Congress party, have decided to boycott the upcoming NITI Aayog meeting in protest against what they perceive as a ‘discriminatory’ Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, along with Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, will not be present at the meeting.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, in a social media post at night, wrote, “The Union Budget presented today was extremely discriminatory and dangerous, which completely goes against the principles of federalism and fairness that the Union Government must follow. In protest, INC CMs will be boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting.”
In the Union Budget, Siddaramaiah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not looked beyond Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in order to protect his government. The Chandrababu Nadu-led TDP and Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) are the key allies in the Modi 3.0 government.
While West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee and Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the budget, they have not yet made any public announcements to boycott.
