India has financially benefited from the success in combating insurgency in its north-eastern states with security cooperation from Bangladesh, Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran acknowledged on Wednesday. He also has made it clear that New Delhi would deal
with any government that comes to power in Dhaka.“Yes, you are right. If there is no insurgency in the north-east, then naturally that reduces the expenditure on law and order. I think that is the very statement to make,” the Indian envoy said in answer to a question about India’s gain from Bangladesh’s security cooperation at a press conference organised by the National Press Club at its VIP Lounge.
“Yes, if you are arguing the case that India has saved money because of successes in combating insurgency in the north-east, I think my answer has to be, ‘yes, we have’,” he added.
“Having said that, it is also true that we cannot live isolated from each other,” Saran said, pointing out that what happened in India in terms of stability and law and order situation affected Bangladesh and vice versa.
“So I do think that neither the security of Bangladesh nor the security of India stops at the border. It is a fallacy. We are not living on the moon or Mars. Here we are living together,” he said.
Asked about the monetary issue in this regard, the High Commissioner said: “Do we reduce it to a monetary issue? Is it 1,000 crore, 2,000 crore or 10,000 crore? Are we looking at a future purview and my
children? I am being very frank here. The Indian north-east, which is very unstable, will not leave Bangladesh untouched and Bangladesh, which is unstable, will affect India.”
“Unless and until we recognise this essential fact, we will repeat the same mistake we have made in the past. I feel that in the last three-four years, we seem to have made progress,” he said.
Asked if the “good relationship” between Dhaka and Delhi would remain unchanged if the BNP came to power, Saran said without mentioning any party: “Obviously. India will deal with any government that comes to power in Bangladesh. Because that is the way it has to be.” “We will always abide by and respect the wishes of the people of Bangladesh. Our relationship touches all political spectrum in Bangladesh. And it is also focused on the welfare of the people of Bangladesh,” he added.
The Indian High Commissioner iterated Delhi’s commitment to signing the Teesta water sharing agreement and ratifying the Land Boundary Agreement, 1974, and its additional protocol signed in September, 2011.
He, however, did not provide any timeframe for the signing of the Teesta pact and the LBA ratification.
The Indian envoy also expressed Delhi’s desire to bring the killing of Bangladesh nationals along the Bangladesh-India border to zero, saying that every death was regrettable.
On Teesta, Saran said: “I have no hesitation to say it is unfortunate that the agreement could not be signed. But, India is committed to signing the agreement with Bangladesh. We will remain in touch with all the stakeholders in India to reach a consensus.” He added: “But, (Teesta) water continues to flow into Bangladesh without any hindrance,”
About the LBA, Saran said: “It’s very important. We are committed to ratifying the LBA and the additional protocol.”
The LBA ratification requires amendment to the Indian Constitution and that needs the approval of two-thirds majority in Parliament, he said, adding that since the present Manmohan Singh government did not have the majority, consultations with other parties were going on to reach a consensus.
Attempts were made to introduce the Constitution amendment Bill in the past session of Parliament without any success and there would be efforts to introduce it in the next session, Saran said.
To another query, Saran gave credit to Bangladesh for ratifying the LBA, acknowledging that there had been a delay and loss of time on the Indian side owing to internal process.
On border killings, the envoy claimed that there had not been a single killing along the Bangladesh-India border since January. He, however, said: “Every death is regrettable. India does not condone a single killing. We want to bring the killing to zero. Each killing is investigated.”
About the reported killing of two Bangladeshis by the BSF on Tuesday night, Saran said: “I am not aware of it. I will check with New Delhi.”
Asked if India was gaining more from the relationship between the two countries, he said: “On the question whether it is being a one-sided game, there is a feeling that India has achieved more in this relationship than Bangladesh because we have not signed the Teesta accord and not ratified the LBA. But this is not one-sided and that we have not got any undue advantage from Bangladesh. You look at the totality.”
He mentioned trade liberalisation, stating that India had opened its market of 1.2 billion people for Bangladesh. “Politics is important and so increasingly is economics. In fact, I would say that the new politics is economics and if we understand this, our approach to each other might change,” he said.
On the Tipaimukh project, Saran said: “We have a situation where on the one hand Bangladesh has included the Tipaimukh project on the list from which they would like to receive power, but on the other hand they have also expressed concern over it. So we have to reconcile the two factors,” he said.
About Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India, the High Commissioner said: “There is an invitation. The date is under discussion.”
Asked if there was an invitation for the Opposition leader, Khaleda Zia, he said: “As of now, there is no invitation as such. But obviously she is most welcome if she wants to visit India.”
On Dhaka-Delhi ties, Saran said the relationship between Bangladesh and India should be intended for the betterment of the people of the two countries. “Whatever we do has to be done for the benefit of the people and ensuring maximum gains for both countries. We can maximise our gains without harming the other through working together with a cooperative approach,” he said.
“We are here to stay. We are not going anywhere. So, we have to learn together, solve our problems together and cooperate together,” he added.
The Indian envoy said: “India respects the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Bangladesh.”
Saran added: “The relationship has had its ups and downs in the past. This experience made us more mature and the passage of time has made us self-confident. The relationship is now on the right path and we are making progress.”
The High Commissioner detailed Bangladesh-India cooperation on key areas like political and security, development, trade and commerce, natural resources, regional and sub-regional issues and people to people contact. He also said that energy cooperation was at the moment high on the agenda.
-With The Independent input
