Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the eighth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog in New Delhi on Saturday, said the Centre, States and Union Territories should work as ‘Team India’ and fulfil the dreams and aspirations of people for a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The PM highlighted the crucial role of NITI Aayog in assisting states in developing long-term strategies aligned with the national development agenda and urged states and UTs to work closely with NITI Aayog to propel the country towards ‘Amrit Kaal’, according to an official statement.
“NITI Aayog is taking multiple initiatives for strengthening cooperative and competitive federalism like the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP). Both these programmes showcase the power of working together as Centre, States and Districts, and the impact of data-driven governance in improving the lives of common citizens at the grassroots level,” he said in a statement.
The Prime Minister stressed on the need for States and Centre to promote Shree Anna in the International Year of Millets. He also deliberated on the need for working towards water conservation through the Amrit Sarovar programme.
He also spoke about the importance of maintaining fiscal discipline at the State levels. He urged the States to proactively use the Gati Shakti Portal not only for infrastructure and logistics but also for local area development and creation of social infrastructure, as per the statement.
Speaking about G20 meetings being held in the country, he said that while meetings have brought glory to India on the world stage, it has provided States the opportunity for global exposure.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the importance of skilling people with a view to meet global requirements, supporting MSMEs, developing the tourism potential of the country, reducing compliances at the State level including decriminalisation of minor offences, creation of Ekta Malls. Talking about Nari Shakti, he highlighted the significance of women-led development. He also spoke about ending the menace of Tuberculosis by 2025.
Kejriwal, Mamata Among 11 CMs Who Skipped Meeting
At least 11 chief ministers, mostly from states not ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its allies, skipped the meeting today.
The Governing Council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of NITI Aayog.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel attended the meeting at the new Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
Union ministers Amit Shah, Niramala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and chief ministers of Assam and Jharkhand also attended the meeting, among others.
NITI Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam said 11 Chief Ministers did not attend the meeting, but highlighted the participation of several other leaders. “Eleven Chief Ministers didn’t attend the meeting. But several other Chief Ministers did. I have seen similar attendance in previous NITI Aayog Governing Council meetings. They might have their personal reasons,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.
Speaking on the “boycott” of the meeting by Opposition leaders Subrahmanyam further said, “If you don’t attend (the meeting) you miss out on the discussion, on the rich thinking. It is not as if we will boycott someone, we will work together. Government of India forms policies and it is not as if the states who didn’t attend will be left out but loss is of those who don’t participate.”
The chief ministers who have decided to not attend the meeting include Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, both Aam Aadmi Party leaders. Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, Telangana CM and Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrashekar Rao, along with Tamil Nadu CM and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president MK Stalin, Rajasthan CM and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot and Kerala CM and CPI (M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan.
Delhi
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal on Friday announced a boycott of the Niti Aayog meeting, saying if “cooperative federalism becomes a joke, then it is not worth joining the meeting”.
He made the announcement in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he also urged him to allow the non-BJP government to also work.
In his letter, Kejriwal said, “Tomorrow is the meeting of the Niti Aayog. The job of the Niti Aayog is to promote cooperative federalism and prepare the vision for India. However, the way in which democracy has been targeted and non-BJP governments are being brought down and not allowed to work, then it is not the vision for new India and not in the spirit of cooperative federalism.”
He claimed that in the last few years, a message is being given that if any state chooses to elect a non-BJP government then it would not be “tolerated”.
Citing the May 11 judgement of the Supreme Court, he said, “After a long fight of eight years, the people of Delhi won in Supreme Court and then an ordinance was brought by your government to negate the top court orders.”
Punjab
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party colleague and Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann is staying away from the meeting because the “Union government was ignoring issues related to farmers”.
“The Centre has withheld Rural Development Fee (RDF) amounting to Rs 4,000 crore, reduced the RDF rate, stopped mandi tax, delayed goods and services tax (GST) compensation, and shifted some sanctioned projects to other states,” AAP’s Punjab unit said.
West Bengal
West Bengal will not have any representative at the Niti Aayog meeting as the TMC government’s request to send the state finance minister and the chief secretary was “turned down” by the Centre, which “insisted” that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may attend the event. Banerjee has already decided not to attend the eighth governing council meeting of Niti Aayog.
Bihar
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said he would be able to attend because of “prior commitments”. Kumar later blamed the Centre for his inability to attend the Niti Aayog meeting. “When I received the schedule of the Niti Aayog meet I sought a change in the timings since it clashed with the function here,” he said on the sidelines of a function to mark the death anniversary of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Patna.
Telangana
According to Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s office, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti president will also not attend the meeting since he has a scheduled meeting with Kejriwal in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu
Due to his ongoing a three-day visit to Singapore and Japan, the Tamil Nadu chief minister will be unable to attend the meeting, according to reports.
Rajasthan
According to news agency ANI, Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot has stated health reasons as the cause for not being able to attend the meeting.
Odisha
Though his party BJD has decided to attend the controversial new Parliament building inauguration on Sunday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik skipped the meeting today. Patnaik remained busy through the day in several meetings including review of the four-year performance of different departments including Mission Shakti, according to a PTI report.
Meanwhile, Chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states– Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh– attended the meeting.
Kerala
Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has not provided any specific reason for his absence, as per reports.
BJP Lashes Out at ‘Anti-people’, ‘Irresponsible’ CMs
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad criticized the chief ministers who boycotted the governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog, labeling their decision as “anti-people” and “irresponsible.”
In his statement, Prasad questioned the absence of these chief ministers, stating, “Why are they not coming to attend the meeting where 100 issues are to be discussed. If such a large number of chief ministers do not participate, they are not bringing the voice of their states.”
He further added, “It is very unfortunate, irresponsible, and anti-people. How far will you go in opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi?”
“You will get more opportunities to oppose Modi. But why are you causing harm to the people of your state?” he questioned.
This decision to boycott the meeting by eight chief ministers is “totally irresponsible” and is also “against the public interest and in the interest of people they govern in their states”, Prasad said.
NITI Aayog’s Governing Council Meet
“NITI Aayog will be organising its 8th Governing Council Meeting on the theme of ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Role of Team India’ on May 27, 2023,” the Aayog said in a statement earlier.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, CEO of NITI Aayog BVR Subrahmanyam emphasised the significance of the theme “Viksit Bharat” during the 8th Governing Council meeting.
He stated, “Why is Viksit Bharat so important at this point? It is important because India is at a takeoff moment. We are not only the largest country by population but also the 5th largest economy. The fifth is going to become the third in a couple of years.”
He highlighted the favorable demographic situation of India. “Demography is in our favour not just in terms of the total number of people but also in terms of the number of youthful people. India will have about 20% of the world’s working-age population in a couple of years, and it is going to be the largest provider of working-age people for the next 20 years or so,” he said.
In an earlier statement the government think tank noted that as the world’s fifth-largest economy and the most populous nation, India is at a stage in its economic development trajectory where it can achieve accelerated growth over the next 25 years.
In this context, the statement said the 8th Governing Council Meeting provides an opportunity to create a roadmap for Viksit Bharat by 2047 in which Centre and states can work together as Team India.
“Eight prominent themes will be discussed, including Viksit Bharat@2047, thrust on MSMEs, infrastructure and investments, minimising compliances, women empowerment, health and nutrition, skill development, and Gati Shakti for area development and social infrastructure,” the statement said.
According to the statement, as a prelude to the 8th Governing Council meeting, the 2nd Chief Secretaries Conference was held in January 2023 where these themes were extensively discussed.
Wide-ranging stakeholder consultations and brainstorming sessions with subject experts, academia and practitioners were held prior to the Conference in order to gain well-rounded grassroot-level perspectives, it added.
The statement pointed that this 8th Governing Council Meeting is also being held in the backdrop of India’s G20 Presidency.
“India’s G20 motto ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ conveys its civilisational values and its vision of the role of each country in creating the future of our planet,” the statement said, adding that the emerging world has immense hopes on India’s ability to provide values-based leadership and its capacity to deliver development at scale.
The statement noted that the Centre and states have played a significant role in achieving this distinctive development trajectory.
It emphasised that India’s growth is closely interlinked with the growth of states.
Generally, the full council meeting happens every year and last year, it was held under the chairmanship of Modi on August 7.
The council meeting was not convened in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The first meeting of the council took place on February 8, 2015.
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