Drama yet again, Mamata walks out of Niti Aayog meet, claims mic was muted ::::: Bengal CM plays double game .... attends Aayog meet amid boycott by other Opposition states

Mamata Banerjee walks out of PM-led Niti Aayog meet, claims mic was muted

'Viksit Bharat @ 2047' is an ambition of every Indian. States can play an active role to achieve this aim as they are directly connected with the people: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 9th Governing Council Meeting of Niti Aayog.

Modi chairs NITI Aayog meet, Mamata Banerjee attends amid Opposition boycott

NITI Aayog's ninth governing council meeting was underway on Saturday to discuss the development issues of the country. Ahead of the key meeting, many Opposition party chief ministers announced to boycott it.

The NITI Aayog, which is the apex public policy think tank of the central government, includes the PM as Chairman and Chief Ministers of all the states, Lieutenant Governors (LG) of several Union Territories and several union ministers as its members.

According to sources, the chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states were directed to take part in the meeting and to give a presentation in front of PM Modi highlighting the key achievements of their government.

"The chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states have been asked to highlight the achievements of their tenure in office. They have also been asked to highlight the performing and non-performing departments/schemes of their government," sources told India Today TV ahead of the meeting.

The Opposition Chief Ministers who boycotted the meeting included Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Kerala Chief Minister and CPI (M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and all three Congress chief ministers-- Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy, announced to boycott the key meeting of the NITI Aayog.

On Friday, Mamata Banerjee said the public policy think-tank brought by the Modi government should be scrapped and the Planning Commission restored.

Banerjee said the BJP is a "tukde-tukde platform" and asserted she would not allow her state to be divided. This was in reference to talk about creating a new administrative format for north Bengal -- where TMC is politically is much weak and the BJP has gained grounds.

Asked about the situation in neighbouring Bangladesh, which has been rocked by widespread anti-quota agitation, Banerjee said while she cannot interfere in the matters of neighbouring countries, as per United Nations conventions, her state has to give shelter if refugees turn up at the border.

Even as most INDI bloc chief ministers have decided to give it a miss, said she felt their voices should be raised on a common platform.

"They (BJP) have formed the government, but they don't have people's mandate. This is the first time after the BJP came in 2014 that they have not formed the government as a single party," said the Trinamool Congress chief, whose party is a constituent of the INDIA bloc.   

PM Modi likely to visit Ukraine on August 23, first since Russia invasion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely visit Ukraine on August 23, where he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

This would be the Prime Minister's first visit to Ukraine since its war with Russia.

The visit also comes days after PM Modi visited Russia and met President Vladimir Putin.

Nearly a month ago, PM Modi met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy.