Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have assured visiting Bangladesh foreign minister Dipu Moni on Friday that his government intends to introduce the Land Boundary Agreement in Parliament, but there was little coming by way of any substantial assurance from the BJP on the proposed pact except that discussions would be held within the party on this.
While the PM also assured the Bangladeshi leader that “nothing inimical to Bangladesh’s interests would be done”, it’s evident that Dhaka is keen that New Delhi at least ensures the implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement.
Asked if time was running out for both countries to implement the Land Boundary Agreement — Bangladesh heads for elections later this year and India in 2013 — Dr Moni emphasised the need to resolve issues that have been pending between the two neighbours for decades.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, whom Dr Moni met on Friday evening to request his party’s support for the proposed pact, told her that he would discuss the issue with his party. Asked if she saw Mr Jaitley’s response as being positive, Dr Moni responded by saying, “ I thought the response was very positive, that he would discuss the issue with his colleagues.”
Regarding the Opposition to the proposed agreement which needs ratification by Parliament here through the passage of a Constitution amendment bill, the Bangladeshi leader said: “Sometimes, domestic political compulsions do not let us see the larger picture and that is what is needed now and that’s what we have urged. He (Mr Jaitley) also agreed with the view that a larger view is needed”.
Apart from the Land Boundary pact, Dhaka would also like to see the Teesta water sharing agreement implemented. The pact was scrapped at the eleventh hour by Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee in 2011. Dr Moni, however, urged, “Across the board, everybody in India should support it.”
She added, “There have been unresolved issues between two close neighbours for many decades. we must be able to resolve these issues and grow together.”