From urging the Centre to increase the share of States in the central taxes and duties, to the allocation of funds for disaster management to MSP for farmers, Opposition Chief Ministers on Sunday made a slew of demands in the 7th Governing Council Meeting of the Niti Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Non-BJP ruled States, such as Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Rajasthan have in the past also demanded that the compensation regime be extended by five years. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee emphasised that the Centre should look into the demands of the State Governments “more seriously” and no policies should be forced on them.
Banerjee stressed that there should be a “greater cooperation” between the Centre and the States. The Trinamool Congress supremo also said that State Governments should not be pressurised to implement the NEP. She left the meeting midway citing the cyclone situation in Kolkata.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel reiterated his demand to the Centre seeking a five-year extension for the compensation paid to States for revenue shortfall due to GST implementation and called for revising the rates of royalty for coal and other major minerals from the State. On the occasion the Chief Minister noted that the Niti Aayog has appreciated the better performance of the aspirational districts of the State in the last three-and-a-half years. He, however, added that there are still resource problems in the State, which should be resolved.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann informed the media that he raised the issues of farmers including Minimum Support Price (MSP) while adding that he was happy with the meeting.
“It was the first for me after becoming the Chief Minister. It is unfortunate that no one has come from Punjab in the last three years. I went with detailed homework today and tabled Punjab’s issues. The biggest issue was of the variety of crops,” Mann said. He added he was satisfied with the Niti Aayog’s meeting as all issues were listened to. Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal could not attend the meeting as he is in Gujarat. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao boycotted the meeting.