NITI Aayog meeting: Nirmala Sitharaman reacts, PIB fact checks Mamata Banerjee’s ‘microphone muted’ claim.

Mamata Banerjee walked out of NITI Aayog meeting. Nirmala Sitharaman rejected Bengal CM’s claim that she was unfairly stopped midway in her speech.Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman rejected West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s claim that she was unfairly stopped midway in her speech a NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. After walking out of the 9th NITI Aayog’s Governing Council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee alleged that her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.Reacting to the Trinamool Congress chief’s allegation, Nirmala Sitharaman told news agency ANI that it is incorrect to say that Mamata Banerjee’s microphone was switched off and claimed that the clock showed that her speaking time was over.“CM Mamata Banerjee attended the NITI Aayog meeting. We all heard her. Every CM was given the allotted time and that was displayed on the screen which was present before every table…She said in the media that her mic was put off. That is completely false. Every CM was given their due time to speak…It’s unfortunate that the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has claimed that her mic was switched off which is not true…She should speak the truth behind this rather than again build a narrative based on falsehood,” the finance minister said.Separately, Press Information Bureau Fact Check (PIB Fact Check), under the information & broadcasting ministry, claimed that Mamata Banerjee’s allegation was “misleading”“It is being claimed that the microphone of CM, West Bengal was switched off during the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog. This claim is #Misleading. The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it,” PIB Fact Check posted on X. “Alphabetically, CM, West Bengal turn would have come after lunch. She was accommodated as the 7th speaker on an official request of the West Bengal government as she had to return early,” it added.