New Delhi, June 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today delivered closing remarks at the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog. Earlier, he addressed the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, in Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre. The Prime Minister assured the gathering that the suggestions given by various chief ministers would be seriously considered in the course of decision-making. He welcomed the constructive discussion and suggestions made by various Chief Ministers. The Prime Minister also instructed the NITI Aayog to follow up with the states on the actionable points made by them within three months.

While welcoming the Chief Ministers and other delegates from across the nation, the Prime Minister reiterated that the Governing Council is a platform that can bring about "historic change."

Keeping the flood-affected states in forefront, Prime Minister Modi assured that the Centre would provide all assistance to them, to deal with the flood situation.

Tripura, Assam, Mizoram and Manipur are the four northeast states that have been badly affected by floods over the past few days. While chairing the day-long meeting, which includes Union Ministers, Chief Ministers from the States, Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories and senior officials from the Government of India, the Prime Minister said the Governing Council has approached complex issues of governance as 'Team India', in the spirit of cooperative, competitive federalism.

He described the smooth rollout and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as an example of this. PM Modi said that Chief Ministers of States had played a key role in policy formulation, through sub-groups and committees on issues such as Swachh Bharat Mission, Digital Transactions, and Skill Development.

The discussions were being moderated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The Governing Council of NITI Aayog is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors, and strategies with the active involvement of States in shaping the development narrative.

Earlier, reports of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant General of Delhi Anil Baijal was rubbished by Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were reported to have held their own meeting before the start of the Niti Aayog. The chief ministers of the four states, had also gone to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence in New Delhi on Saturday evening to show support for the Delhi Chief Minister. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 17, 2018 08:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).