Niti Aayog Governing Council Meeting: Politics and Policy Align

Decoding Body Language at Niti Aayog Governing Council Meeting

By MANISH ANAND

NEW DELHI, May 24, 2025 – Niti Aayog’s 10^th Governing Council meeting concluded with loud messages of politics and policy aligning for near-term. Unlike past meetings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired day-long deliberations without disruptions and chaos on Saturday at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to skip the 10^th Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog dropped drama quotient from policy brainstorming. Last year, Banerjee had walked out, alleging that she had not been allowed to speak enough at the meeting.

The mood at the 10^th Governing Council meeting was set by Chief Ministers eagerly expressing their appreciation for Operation Sindoor. Modi was visibly pleased with the Chief Ministers showering praises on Operation Sindoor under which India carried out strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) against nine terror targets, as well as military bases of the western neighbour.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was seen walking with the Prime Minister, while apparently sharing light moments. Soren is learnt to have briefed the Prime Minister on his two-nation tour of Europe and the outcome of his meetings.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann bent 90 degrees to shake hands with Modi. The picture of Mann-Modi handshake is now trending on the social media platforms. The Indian Army had recently released a video, claiming that the air defence system had shielded the Golden Temple from Pakistan’s drone and missile attacks.

The Prime Minister also briefly chatted with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. Both seemed sharing cordial conversations. They were also joined by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandra Babu Naidu. The Prime Minister was seen exuding a sense of an indulgent joy at remarks of Naidu with Stalin spontaneously nodding.

Incidentally, Stalin is a sharp critic of Modi. Recently, Tamil Nadu bagged a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court on stalled bills passed by the state Assembly. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also shared cordial moments with the Prime Minister.

Later in the evening, Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said that “there was a unanimous appreciation of Operation Sindoor at the 10^th Governing Council meeting with the Chief Ministers uniformly supporting India’s actions”.

Reddy is CM of a Congress-ruled state. Modi’s bonhomie with three Opposition CMs – Soren, Stalin, and Reddy – gained attention of others. Subrahmanyam later told the media that the states showed support to Modi’s call made last years for vision documents that would align with Centre’s ambition for a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Subrahmanyam stated that Stalin’s demands that Tamil Nadu be given 50 per cent of shares of taxes was made “in a polite manner”.

Clean Ganga Mission Gets Stalin Thumbs up at Niti Aayog Meet

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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