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| India’s B’desh problem | | Time to weaken Hasina’s opponents | |
THE hurling of three crude
bombs apparently to hit the
official car of India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pankaj Saran, on Friday showed yet again that anti-India forces in Bangladesh are always in search of an opportunity to harm India’s interests whenever and wherever possible. Luckily, no harm could be caused to the Indian envoy and the High Commission staffers accompanying him as they were inside the building of the Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Khulna district. Anti-India elements have also been trying to defame the Sheikh Hasina government because of its constructive and India-friendly stance. These negative forces, comprising some religious parties like the Jamat-e-Islami and led by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, are also working against their own country’s interests indirectly. They need to be exposed and weakened. One way to expose these elements for their hollow approach is to get ratified by Parliament the contentious Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh. The Additional Protocols to the pact were signed after a lot of efforts by the two countries during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Dhaka visit in 2011, but could not get Parliament’s approval owing to the strong opposition by the BJP and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Teesta Water Agreement, which was also finalised at that time, became the second victim of Mamata Banerjee’s short-sighted approach. India’s long-term objectives demand whenever there is a clash between the overall interests of the nation and those of any particular state, the former will have to be given precedence. Perhaps, Mamata Banerjee has now realised the significance of not sacrificing the nation’s interests on any pretext. She is believed to have softened her opposition. The BJP also appears to be having a change of heart. The party’s hawkish stand has changed considerably after a meeting on the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and BJP chief Rajnath Singh a few days back. The agreement involves exchange of 111 Indian land enclaves (17,149 acres) in Bangladesh and 21 Bangladeshi enclaves (7,110 acres) falling on the side of India. The Bangladesh Parliament has already ratified the agreement. If India too goes ahead with its ratification, both countries will be the gainers, with New Delhi being in a better position to tackle the endemic infiltration problem from across the border. |
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