CHENNAI: Three southern Chief Ministers, including the head of the NDA-ruled Puducherry, were absent from the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog held in New Delhi on Saturday and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu, MK Stalin, and A Revanth Reddy attended the meeting to present their respective states’ concerns before the council.However, Congress-ruled Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah cited a “prior engagement” in the state and sent his speech to be read out at the council. Sources in Bengaluru said the Chief Minister was not boycotting the meeting but had a scheduled event in Mysuru. It was not immediately clear who would present his address during the session.In Kerala, Marxist veteran and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan deputed state Finance Minister K N Balagopal to attend the meeting on his behalf. Government sources in Thiruvananthapuram noted that since the event was designated for Chief Ministers, it remained uncertain whether Balagopal would be allowed to participate.Similarly, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who leads the AINRC-led NDA coalition in the Union Territory, was also absent. An official source confirmed his absence but did not disclose the reason.This is not the first time that Kerala’s CM has skipped a NITI Aayog meeting last year too, Vijayan had sent Balagopal in his place.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, who had last attended the Governing Council meeting in 2021, defended his decision to participate this year. Amid criticism from opposition party AIADMK, which questioned his motives, Stalin stated he was attending to assert the “fair financial rights of Tamil Nadu”. “I will be firm on the ideology! I will get funds for Tamil Nadu through struggle,” he declared. AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami had earlier alleged that Stalin’s Delhi visit was driven by personal and family interests.The 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog was held under the theme ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047’. The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories, and several Union Ministers. Prime Minister Modi chairs the council.This was also the first major meeting of the Prime Minister with state Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors following Operation Sindoor.
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