Jayalalithaa walks out of NDC meet

Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday walked out of the National Development Council (NDC) meeting accusing the Centre of stifling voices of chief ministers.

The Tamil Nadu CM said that she was not given enough time to speak. "I feel humiliated," Jayalalithaa said.

The National Development Council (NDC) meet here had a stipulated 10 minutes for each chief minister to speak but this did not go down well with Jayalalithaa.

"I began my speech and as soon as 10 minutes were up, they rang a bell. It was a big humiliation," said Jayalalithaa.

"Just allot 10 minutes and humiliate in this way. They need not have called us all the way to Delhi. I register my strong protest against the centre's move to stifle the voices of chief ministers who are in the opposition," she added.

"How can the Centre expect a chief minister to read her speech and give suggestions in 10-minute time slot," asked the Tamil Nadu CM. "No chief minister can be expected to give his/her views in 10 minutes," she said.

I get the impression that the Union government was not serious in tackling poverty, Jayalalithaa said.

An extra-constitutional, non-statutory body, the NDC is the apex institution for decision-making in India, led by the Prime Minister, and includes cabinet ministers, the chief ministers of all states and representatives from Union territories.