PM Modi to chair Niti Aayog's Governing Council meet, Mamata likely to skip

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair Niti Aayog's Governing Council meeting on Saturday. Mamata Banerjee may not attend the meeting.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers of states and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories (UTs) will attend a crucial meeting of NITI Aayog on Saturday.

In his capacity as the Chairman of NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister will preside over the sixth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, said an official statement.

Besides Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors, several union ministers and senior government officials will join the virtual meeting to discuss a range of issues related to the economy.

“The council will deliberate on issues related to agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, human resource development, service delivery at the grassroots level and health and nutrition,” said the statement.

The Governing Council meets regularly and its first meeting took place on February 8, 2015. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governing Council did not meet last year.

Notably, the meeting will witness the entry of Ladakh for the first time, in addition to the participation of Jammu and Kashmir as UT.

To recall, the Parliament gave its approval to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in August 2019 paving the way for the creation of two UTs – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

As per the provisions of the legislation, Jammu and Kashmir is provided with a Legislative Assembly on the lines of Puducherry and Delhi.

Mamata Banerjee likely to skip the meeting

Reports suggest that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister.

"Mamata Banerjee may not attend the Niti Aayog's February 20 meeting," a senior TMC leader said.

Banerjee had earlier skipped the Niti Aayog's meetings and termed it as a "fruitless" exercise, alleging that the body has "no financial power" and cannot support the state plans.

Established in 2015, Niti Aayog is the brainchild of Narendra Modi and it replaced the over six-decade-old Planning Commission to act as a policy think tank for the government.

(Inputs from PTI)