After skipping Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday gave a miss to the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of Niti Aayog chaired by the PM.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh could not attend the meeting due to health reasons, sources said, adding the State was represented by its Finance Minister. Mamata, KCR, and Amarinder had skipped Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on May 23.
In a letter to Modi, the Mamata had expressed her inability to attend the Niti Aayog meeting on June 15, saying it is “fruitless” as the body has no financial powers to support State plans.
Sources said the Telangana CM is busy with preparations for the launch of his ambitious Rs 80,000-crore Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project that would end water woes in the State.
The project is scheduled to be inaugurated on June 21. The Telangana Chief Minister planned to meet Modi and extend an invitation to the inauguration but is yet to get an appointment from the Prime Minister. The Telangana Government has not sent any representative to the meeting.
The meeting is being attended all other Chief Ministers, administrators of Union Territories and the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir.