As a new government has taken over in Bangladesh following the January 05 national elections, foreign policy matters will acquire bigger importance for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the polls became controversial because the main opposition party boycotted these and rejected the results.
A major subject that would generate interest among the people is the resolution of the some crucially important bilateral disputes with India like the sharing of the waters of the Teesta river and implementation of the 1974 land boundary agreement. Even though the new Bangladesh government is in effect a continuation of the previous authority, it has to re-focus on these issues because a settlement brooks no further delay. It demands urgency as the UPA-led government in India, which is known for cooperation and friendliness with the present Bangladesh government, may not return to power in the polls that are expected within months.
The Teesta water accord and implementation of the 1974 land boundary agreement are hanging in the balance with little sign that these would be concluded shortly. Rather paradoxically, the Indian government is known to be quite sincere about the two issues, but other factors are believed to be acting as impediments on the way of a settlement. Nevertheless, it is the bounden duty on the part of the Indian government to facilitate the finale of both the issues for the sake of bilateral relations.
A critically important agreement on sharing the waters of the Teesta between Bangladesh and India remains elusive as far as Dhaka is concerned. When can the much-talked-about accord on Teesta be expected? The issue came to the fore with all seriousness following Indian external affairs minister Salman Kurshid's visit to Dhaka several months ago when. Apart from Teesta, Salman gave a positive signal about the long-delayed ratification by Indian parliament of the Indo-Bangladesh land boundary agreement. Some other matters like narrowing down the yawning gap in trade and commerce also made some progress. But the much-vaunted accord on sharing the water of the Teesta failed to make any headway even though the Indian external affairs minister gave assurance that it would be clinched "as soon as possible". Evidently, the "soon" remains ambiguous and only time can tell when this agreement would finally see the light of the day.
The chief minister of the Indian state of Paschimbanga Mamata Baneerjee has made the prospects of the Teesta water agreement between Bangladesh and India somewhat uncertain. Her stance on the issue, along with some other Indo-Bangladesh bilateral matters, only sends negative signals about the Dhaka-New Delhi cordial ties. Mamata is known for her opposition to the Teesta accord which was expected to be signed during Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh in September, 2011. But it could not be clinched as the Paschimbanga chief minister made a volte face at the last moment on the issue and opted out of the trip to Dhaka. She is not favouring the accord in the manner two countries had agreed upon. Although a chief minister of a state, Mamata was a key ally of the Indian central government that time and her position on bilateral matters with Bangladesh was seen with importance by the New Delhi authorities.
 The Paschimbanga chief minister has by and large stuck to her ground even though she has spoken eloquently about the need for development of Indo-Bangladesh ties. She blows hot and cold on the issue, but in effect has emerged as a stumbling block to the signing of the agreement.
The non-conclusion of the agreement came as a big setback to the visit of Dr. Manmohan Singh as Dhaka had expressed its frustration at the development. The matter is of critical importance to Bangladesh and the failure to conclude the accord has undoubtedly come as an anti-climax to the current phase of friendly bilateral ties. Mamata made it clear on more than one occasion that she was concerned about her state rather than Indo-Bangladesh ties. She did not want to be party of the accord which she thought would not protect the interest of Paschimbanga. The Indian prime minister before leaving Bangladesh capital for home had given vent to his frustration on the non-conclusion of the agreement and obliquely referred to Mamata's opposition to the issue. It is a matter between the central government and a state government of India. New Delhi and Kolkata need to sort it out for the interest of Indo-Bangladesh relations.
Anyway, the real issue is: will the accord be signed and if so, when? Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina raised the issue when she met with the Indian Prime Minister in the international gatherings. She was assured of an "early" conclusion of the accord.
Mamata Bannerjee's Trinamool Congress is no longer an ally of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre and the Indian government has now no compulsion as such to heed to Mamata, whose support to the Manmohan Singh government was important earlier.
 Mamata continues to adopt a hard line on the Teesta and reports say the chief minister feels that friendship can not be "at the expense of water or land", meaning her reservation towards the accord on the enclaves as well.
Salman Kurshid's maiden visit to Bangladesh as the external affairs minister produced some good results, but the Teesta accord is still not exactly on the cards although both sides are saying that it would be agreed upon shortly. The Indian government has moved effectively - albeit quite belatedly - on ratification of the 1974 land boundary agreement as the cabinet has approved it for ratification by parliament. However, the government needs support of the main opposition parties for the purpose as the ratification needs two-thirds majority support in parliament and this is not possible without the endorsement by the main opposition BJP. The BJP president Rajnath Singh had one stage said that his party was likely to back the Indo-Bangladesh land boundary accord, but later his party's position on the issue only contradicted Singh's optimism. The matter has so far not been favourably treated in the Indian parliament even though the Indian prime minister has also spoken for it.
About Teesta, the views of Paschimbanga is important for geographical reasons. But it is the matter of the Indian government to remove whatever bottlenecks stand on the way for the conclusion of the accord. The central government is required to facilitate the crucially important understanding on the two issues.
The present Indian government's days are numbered since the elections are due in April/May, this year. This government is friendly to Bangladesh and this makes it somewhat imperative that the two outstanding issues with Dhaka are resolved without further delay. For the new Dhaka government, it is a priority for obvious reasons.
zaglulbss@yahoo.com
A fresh focus on Teesta and land boundary accord
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury | Published: January 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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