Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh's criticism of NITI Aayog after Mamata Banerjee walked out of the central think tank's meeting. However, the meeting was marked by a boycott from several opposition-ruled states and a walkout by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Notably, NDA ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar skipped the meeting, sparking raised eyebrows in political circles. The state was represented by Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.

According to Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam, 10 states and UTs, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Puducherry, did not participate in the meeting. Mamata Banerjee, the only opposition CM to attend, walked out, alleging her microphone was muted and she was allowed only 5 minutes to speak, while others spoke for 10-20 minutes. The Centre refuted her claims, stating the clock showed her speaking time was over.

Opposition chief ministers boycotted the meeting to protest the "discriminatory" Union Budget 2024-25 towards non-NDA-ruled state governments. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin initiated the boycott, followed by Congress-ruled states and the AAP-led Punjab government.