Udit Raj Criticizes BJP for Silencing Mamata Banerjee at NITI Aayog Meeting

New Delhi, India – Congress leader Udit Raj has condemned the BJP for muting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s microphone after just five minutes during a NITI Aayog meeting. Raj stated that this is not the first time such an incident has occurred, citing instances where Rahul Gandhi’s microphone was muted in Parliament.

Raj said, “Even after facing a setback in the Lok Sabha polls, the dictatorship attitude of the BJP is not over. CM Mamata Banerjee’s mike was muted within 5 minutes. In such a case, there is no need to invite the opposition to the NITI Aayog meeting. After seeing this development, it can be said that Congress made the right decision by not attending the NITI Aayog meeting.”

He also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the PM does not allow his party members to speak, making it obvious that the opposition’s voice would be silenced. Raj added, “The way in which Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have been given more money, the treatment meted to CM Mamata Banerjee is not surprising. The Modi government is used to silencing the voice of the opposition.”

Earlier, after staging a walkout from the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of “insulting Bengal” by interrupting her speech after five minutes. She claimed it was a deliberate attempt to “malign the opposition.”

Banerjee 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 favored, 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.”