Three chief ministers, including Mamata Banerjee and K Chandrashekhar Rao, gave it a miss to the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of Niti Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here Saturday. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh did not attend the meeting due to health reasons, sources said, adding that the state is being represented by its Finance Minister Manpreet Badal. West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee and her Telangana counterpart Rao had also skipped Modi's swearing in ceremony on May 30. Sources said the Telangana Chief Minister was busy with preparations for the launch of his ambitious Rs 80,000 crore Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project that would end water woes in the state. Modi chaired the fifth meeting of the Niti Aayog's Governing Council Saturday that discussed various issues regarding the country's development.

Source: dna June 15, 2019 12:33 UTC