Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the Niti Aayog’s governing council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, sources said on Friday.

The council, the apex body of the government’s think tank, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories (UTs), several Union ministers and senior government officials.

The meeting will discuss issues related to agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing and human resource development.

“Mamata Banerjee may not attend the Niti Aayog’s February 20 meeting,” a senior TMC leader said on condition of anonymity.

Banerjee in 2019 had skipped the Niti Aayog’s meetings and termed it as a “fruitless” exercise, alleging that the body has “no financial power” and cannot support the state plans.

She had stated that the Planning Commission was more effective than the Niti Aayog and sought its return.

Banerjee had said that the Planning Commission had a bottom-up approach where the body would hold regular meetings with state governments.