The issues relating to the ratification of Land Boundary Agreement and its additional protocol signed in 2011 and Teesta water sharing agreement will be high on the agenda during the discussions between the Indian leadership and Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni, who will leave the capital for New Delhi on Thursday morning on a three-day visit. Besides, according to sources concerned, Dipu Moni will highlight the issue of killing of Bangladeshis by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) alongside other issues concerning bilateral relationship.
They also said that though the main objective of the visit would be to deliver a lecture at an Indian think tank in New Delhi, she would have meetings with the Indian leadership where all the bilateral issues would be discussed.
The Foreign Minister will convey a message of urgency from the Bangladesh side about the resolution of pending contentious issues like LBA and Teesta, a senior official said.
“I will raise the issues relating to LBA and Teesta when I will meet the Indian leadership,” Dipu Moni told a press conference on Sunday.
On the day of her arrival, the Foreign Minister will deliver a lecture titled ‘4th RK Mishra Memorial Lecture’ at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an independent think tank based in India. RK Mishra was the founding chairman of the ORF.
Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will chair the memorial lecture.
Aside from the lecture, Dipu Moni is scheduled to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, her counterpart External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Leader of the Opposition at Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley. Though not confirmed yet, she may meet the Indian President, Pranab Mukherjee, She is scheduled to return home on July 27.
Meanwhile, according to The Times of India, Dipu Moni is making a last-ditch attempt to get the LBA and its protocol ratified by directly approaching BJP, the main opposition.
“The land boundary agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh was touted as UPA’s main achievement in foreign policy but it’s now fighting for survival. As New Delhi rues lack of political support for the agreement, which needs to be ratified by Parliament, Bangladeshi foreign minister Dipu Moni is making a last-ditch attempt to salvage the LBA protocol by directly approaching the BJP for its support in the Rajya Sabha where it will be introduced in the monsoon session,” read an article on the daily titled ‘Bangladesh taps BJP to salvage land border deal’.
Government sources confirmed Moni will meet leader of opposition in the Upper House, Arun Jaitley, for the purpose later this week. The agreement can only be ratified through a Constituent Amendment Bill as it involves exchange of territories. The Bill needs to be passed by a majority in each House of no less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
Moni will be here on Thursday for the RK Mishra Memorial Lecture and is expected to meet both Jaitley and foreign minister Salman Khurshid the next day. The main Opposition party – along with other outfits like Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) that prevented the government from introducing the Bill during the Budget session – continues to oppose the agreement insisting that India is ceding too much territory to the neighbouring country.
The additional protocol for the 1974 LBA was signed in September 2011 during PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka. The Indian government is concerned that if the agreement is not cleared by Parliament in the next session, New Delhi’s chances of settling the long pending boundary issue will be scuttled as Bangladesh will soon go to polls. The government believes that this is the right time for implementing the agreement because of the manner in which the Sheikh Hasina government has taken care of India’s interests, especially those related to security.
The agreement envisages transfer of 111 enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres to Bangladesh while Dhaka will transfer 51 enclaves with an area of 7,110.02 acres to India. While on the face of it India does seem to be losing some territory, the government has in fact only converted a de-facto reality into a de-jure situation as these enclaves are located deep inside the two countries with little physical access to these
by both.
The government maintains that it did not just take the concurrence of the states involved (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal) in writing but also the “will of the people” directly impacted. The protocol’s implementation through the exchange of enclaves, says the government, will mitigate a major humanitarian issue as the residents of the enclaves have had to endure the absence of basic amenities for many decades in the absence of any such settlement.
-With The Independent input
