West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Saturday.
On Banerjee’s absence, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said: “I tried very hard in persuading her to be on board for the meeting, but could not succeed. We were looking forward to her contribution as West Bengal is a very important state for us. But, I am afraid that I could not get her to participate in the meeting.”
Similarly, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao also skipped the meeting, citing an extremely busy schedule in connection with the inauguration of an irrigation project in state. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, citing health reasons, also did not attend.