The 9th meeting of the NITI Aayog’s Governing Council, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took place on Saturday. CEO B.V.R. Subramanian shared that 26 participants, including chief ministers and lieutenant governors of union territories, attended the meeting. However, 10 states and union territories were absent. The states and territories not present were Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Puducherry.
Subramanian emphasized that their absence was a loss for them and that the inclusion of these states would have been mutually beneficial. He remarked on the last-minute dropouts and mentioned having the speeches of some absent states like Jharkhand and Puducherry. He stated, “Non-participation wasn’t a boycott; it’s their loss if they don’t attend,” while continually encouraging states to participate.
Regarding Bihar’s CM Nitish Kumar’s absence at the meeting, NITI Aayog’s CEO clarified that political speculations aside, CM Nitish Kumar was busy with the state’s legislative assembly session.
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What did PM Modi discuss in the meeting?
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery highlighted PM Modi’s address where he urged states to compete for FDI, aiming for investment outreach to all states, especially the less successful ones. Discussions also covered demographic management and the concept of zero poverty. CEO Subramanian mentioned that PM wants states to increase spending on districts to foster development.
Source: aajtak
Boycott by several state CMs
Several chief ministers from the opposition bloc boycotted the meeting. Tamil Nadu’s CM M.K. Stalin, Kerala’s CM Pinarayi Vijayan (also CPI(M) leader), Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, and Congress-led states Karnataka’s CM Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh’s CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Telangana’s CM Revanth Reddy, among others, had announced their boycott of this significant meeting.
