West Bengal CM Mamata's 'insult' at NITI Aayog doesn't suit democratic norms, claims Sanjay Raut

Mumbai: Displaying opposition unity, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday rallied behind West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying that not allowing her to speak in the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi is an insult and not good for democracy.

“Muting the microphone of a Chief Minister doesn't suit democratic norms...it's an insult,” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said.

Banerjee, the TMC supremo, on Saturday, walked out of a NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming she was unfairly stopped midway through her speech, a charge denied by the government asserting that her speaking time was over.

Walking out of the meeting, Banerjee alleged her microphone was switched off after five minutes of her speech while other Chief Ministers, including from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Assam and Chhattisgarh, were allowed to speak for a longer duration.

Lashing out at the Centre, Raut said that the money being allocated to the states belong to the people of India and is tax-payer’s money.

In the same breadth, he also hit out at the BJP-led Maha Yuti government in Maharashtra. “What did Maharashtra get.. Our Chief Minister came back empty handed," Raut said, hitting out at Eknath Shinde.

When asked about NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar's comment about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Raut claimed cases were dropped after the Modi government came to power.