Kolkata, May 24 (UNI) Nearly a year after the microphone controversy at the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be attending the meeting scheduled for Saturday in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the chief ministers of various states.

Sources said chief ministers of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan and Karnataka Siddaramaiah have also decided to skip the meeting.

Although no clear explanation has been given for the West Bengal Chief Minister's decision to skip the meeting, sources suggested that her bitter experience in the NITI Aayog meeting last year might be a key reason for her absence from this crucial gathering.

In the last NITI Aayog meeting on July 24 last year, a controversy erupted after Mamata Banerjee walked out midway, alleging that her microphone was muted during her speech, preventing her from speaking for more than five minutes.

Mamata Banerjee also accused the organisers of discriminating against her.

She claimed she was given only five minutes to speak, while others who spoke before her were allowed 10 to 20 minutes to present their points.

However, the Union government rejected her allegations through the Press Information Bureau's fact-check handle.

A statement issued by PIB at the time asserted that Mamata Banerjee’s allotted speaking time had ended and even noted that the bell, which typically signals the end of a speaker’s time, had not been rung.

Mamata Banerjee was the only Chief Minister from a non-NDA ruled state to attend that NITI Aayog meeting.
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