Congress MP Manickam Tagore and Others Criticize Microphone Muting at NITI Aayog Meeting
Congress MP Manickam Tagore has raised concerns about the practice of muting microphones of opposition leaders, which he claims has now extended to NITI Aayog meetings. This statement follows West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that her microphone was muted while she was speaking on behalf of the Opposition.
Tagore expressed his disappointment, stating, “It is very unfortunate; the way they insulted a CM is beyond limit. Switch off the microphones of opposition leaders in Parliament; now it has gone to NITI Aayog, where the microphones of CMs are being switched off. They (the BJP government) think that when the microphone is switched off, everybody will become silent but people in India are watching.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also criticized the incident, saying, “The way the budget is made, NITI Aayog works accordingly. Only BJP-ruled states are being given money and schemes. That’s why Stalin (Tamil Nadu CM), Telangana and Himachal Pradesh CMs boycotted the meeting. Mamata Banerjee attended the meeting but she was not allowed to speak. The West Bengal CM was insulted, her microphone was switched off, this doesn’t suit democracy.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need for cooperative federalism. He stated, “Is this the way to treat a Chief Minister? The Union BJP government must understand that opposition parties are an integral part of our democracy and should not be treated as enemies to be silenced. Cooperative federalism requires dialogue and respect for all voices.”
However, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rejected Banerjee’s claim, asserting that every chief minister was “allotted due time to speak.”
After leaving the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi midway, Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of “insulting Bengal” by interrupting her speech after five minutes, claiming it was a deliberate attempt to “malign the opposition.” She said, “I said whatever I could in the 3 to 4 minutes that I got. In the entire country, the way in which all the opposition-ruled states have been neglected and BJP-ruled states and their alliance members have been favoured, we don’t have any objection if any state is given more money but this is not acceptable that someone will get and someone will not get at all.”
Doubts Revealed
Congress MP -: A Congress MP is a Member of Parliament from the Congress party, which is one of the major political parties in India.
Manickam Tagore -: Manickam Tagore is a politician from the Congress party who represents people in the Parliament.
Microphone Muting -: Microphone muting means turning off someone’s microphone so that they cannot be heard when they are speaking.
NITI Aayog -: NITI Aayog is a government organization in India that helps plan and make policies for the country.
West Bengal CM -: West Bengal CM refers to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, who is the head of the government in that state.
Mamata Banerjee -: Mamata Banerjee is the Chief Minister of West Bengal and a well-known political leader in India.
Shiv Sena -: Shiv Sena is a political party in India, mainly active in the state of Maharashtra.
Sanjay Raut -: Sanjay Raut is a politician from the Shiv Sena party.
Tamil Nadu CM -: Tamil Nadu CM refers to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who is the head of the government in that state.
MK Stalin -: MK Stalin is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and a leader of the DMK party.
Undemocratic -: Undemocratic means not following the principles of democracy, where everyone should have a fair chance to speak and be heard.
Union Finance Minister -: The Union Finance Minister is the person in charge of managing the finances of the entire country.
Nirmala Sitharaman -: Nirmala Sitharaman is the current Union Finance Minister of India.
Centre -: In this context, the Centre refers to the central government of India, which is responsible for the entire country.
BJP-ruled states -: BJP-ruled states are states in India where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power and governs the state.
