The three-day visit of the Paschimbanga Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Dhaka at the invitation of the Government of Bangladesh, coinciding with the February 21 Language Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day, has obviously left an impression in the minds of Bengalis on both sides of the border. She placed wreaths at central Shaheed Minar.
The Chief Minster conveyed to Dhaka Paschimbanga's support to the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA). India would hopefully ratify it during the current session of its parliament.
LBA envisages transfer of 111 Indian enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres and a population of 37,334 to Bangladesh. In turn, Bangladesh would hand over 51 enclaves with an area of 7,110.02 acres with a population of 14,215 to India. From the Indian side, territories involved in the exchange are in Paschimbanga, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura states.
Mamata also sounded positive in respect to the issue of sharing water of the Teesta river. She had pulled out of a delegation to Dhaka led by the then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September 2011 raising objection to Teesta water-sharing deal on technical grounds. This issue came up for discussion when she met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban in the capital on February 21, 2015. Mamata said the matter should be resolved in a way that benefits peoples of both India and Bangladesh who are dependent on the river. She urged the PM not to worry about it and pledged to play a positive role in signing the treaty.
It is said Indian PM Narendra Modi during his meeting with Sheikh Hasina in September last year on the sidelines of UN General Assembly Session suggested that the Bangladesh prime minister build rapport with the Paschimbanga government to help the Indian central government implement the Teesta and LBA deals.
Let us look at salient points of other pledges made by Mamata to facilitate ties between the two neighbours. These are: setting up of Bangabandhu Bhaban in Kolkata for use of Bangladeshis travelling to Paschimbanga for medical treatments, instituting Bangabandhu chair at Kolkata University, and annual film, music and cultural festivals.
Mamata proposed forming a joint business council for quick resolution of disputes in bilateral trade and investment. "The council will identify the problems. If I face any problem, you will solve it and if you face any problem, I will solve it immediately to increase bilateral trade," Mamata said. An agreement was signed between the Indian Chamber of commerce (ICC) and India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) to expedite the relevant business matters.
Mamata suggested increasing road, river, and rail connectivity to jointly develop the region and harness its potential. She pledged that her state government would not allow terrorists and militants to operate from Paschimbanga. Mamata proposed to develope Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans to attract more tourists from all over the world.
Mamata Banerjee took oath as the first woman Chief Minister of Paschimbanga on May 20, 2011 and her Trinamool Congress party won 34 seats out of total 42 in the Lok Sabha elections last May. This proves her popularity in Paschimbanga. Mamata said that she faced various problems in undertaking the visit to Bangladesh. She hoped that her visit would further strengthen bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh.
The writer is an economist, advocate and columnist.
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