Congress snubs PM Modi ahead of Monsoon Session, party CMs to skip Niti Aayog meeting over Land Bill

Just ahead of the crucial Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Congress is clearly posturing itself against the Narendra Modi government. All Congress chief ministers have, according to sources, decided to skip the Niti Aayog meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The meeting of all chief ministers from across the country has been convened by Prime Minister Modi to discuss the Land Acquisition Bill, which the Centre has struggled to pass in the Rajya Sabha.

This came after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee earlier communicated to the Prime Minister that she too would skip the meeting as a mark of her opposition to the land bill.

Meanwhile, sources in the Janata Dal-United (JDU) told CNN-IBN that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would attend the Niti Aayog meeting. They, however, added that Kumar is slated to oppose the bill at the meeting.

The bill is currently with a Parliamentary standing committee.

The Prime Minister is also slated to have separate meetings with chief ministers of North Eastern states, including Sikkim.

This is the second meeting of the Governing Council of the Niti Aayog. The council, which comprises all chief ministers and Lt Governors of Union Territories, is headed by the Prime Minister.

Besides the Land Acquisition Bill, reports said that the council would also deliberate on issues like poverty, health and centrally sponsored schemes (CSS). The council is also likely to review the work done by three sub-groups of chief ministers and two task forces under the NITI Aayog.

The other issues which may come up for discussion include Goods and Services Tax (GST) and devolution of taxes between the Centre and states as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

The government had constituted three sub-groups of chief ministers under the NITI Aayog on Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), Skill Development and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which are led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu respectively.

(With PTI Inputs)