Allegation by Mamata Banerjee:

The government has rejected the allegations of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s mike being switched off during the Niti Aayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday. Responding to Mamata’s allegations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Mamata Banerjee should tell the truth behind it instead of fabricating a story based on lies. Sitharaman said that every CM was given adequate time to speak. She said that we all listened to Mamata Banerjee.

‘Every CM was given an allotted time’

Nirmala Sitharaman said, ‘CM Mamata Banerjee attended the Niti Aayog meeting. We all heard her. Each CM was given an allotted time and it was displayed on the screen which was present in front of every table. They said in the media that their mic was switched off. This is completely false. Each Chief Minister was given a fair amount of time to speak. It is unfortunate that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that her mic was switched off, which is not true. She should speak the truth behind it instead of fabricating a story based on lies.’

‘People spoke for 10-20 minutes before me’

Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had said, ‘For three years our 100 days work (MGNREGA) was stopped, housing scheme was stopped. No government runs like this. You cannot discriminate between your party and other parties, you are in power at the center. You have to take care of everyone. I wanted to speak but I was allowed to speak only for 5 minutes. Those who spoke before me spoke for 10-20 minutes. I alone participated in this meeting from the opposition. But still I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting.’