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Mamata suggests Dhaka to forget Teesta water
Faruque Ahmed
The much hyped official visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Delhi is under increased focus on what it has achieved from the perspective of Bangladesh national interest. India has got its shopping list of 22 deals including four MoUs for defence cooperation, besides inking several deals on big power projects, regional connectivity, education, science and health sectors etcetera.
But what appears to be the biggest setback is Dhaka’s failure to secure the Teesta water sharing agreement as Ms Mamata Benarjee foiled it for the third time now although there was evidently no lack of goodwill from the Indian central government to end the impasse.
Rather her new proposal this time to Dhaka to work to use water from five common rivers instead of Teesta water seems to be highly deceptive to shift the focus to new areas.
We have now the last hope to Narendra Modi’s assurance that Dhaka will
get Teesta water during the tenure of Sheikh Haasina government although it is an open ended assurance. But let us believe it. There is no way out also.
As Mamata said Teesta has no water to spare for Bangladesh blocking the deal, Modi has said now he is sending a team of experts to Bhutan to see the water reserves at the upstream of Teesta which originates from the Himalayas. He seems to be sincere in his attempt to resolve the crisis.
Mamata’s damaging role
Prime Minister Nerandra Modi tried to convince Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Benarjee to sign the deal like his former predecessor Dr Manmohon Singh. He too, was ready to sign the Teesta agreement during his 2011 visit to Dhaka. But Ms Mamata at the last minute in a surprise move abandoned her visit to Dhaka with Dr Singh aborting the attempt to settle the deal.
During Mr Modi’s visit to Dhaka in 2015 Mamata carefully avoided to accompany him and avoided signing the Teesta deal. For all practical purposes it appears that she had played an unethical game with Bangladesh people when she paid a visit to Dhaka on February 20, 2015 to convey her “love” for the people here.
On that occasion she had told the people to ‘keep faith in her’ to resolve the long standing Teesta issue. She made the assurance with some convincing words: “Please keep faith in me” and “Don’t’ worry about it.” But Ms Mamata now says Bangladesh should agree to use water of five common rivers instead of Teesta water.
At a meeting with Hasina last Saturday in Delhi, she remained unmoved, ignoring the previous pledge as the Bangladesh PM apparently tried to persuade her to agree to the Teesta water-sharing deal.
The Bengal chief minister brushed aside any prospect of a Teesta deal in the near future saying there was no water in the Teesta River. It was an outright embarrassment for the Bangladesh prime minister to swallow repeated failures to bring Teesta water and face serious misgivings from Bangladesh people for providing so many sensitive concessions to India in the last several years without getting anything tangible in return. This is a serious setback for her.
Hilsa diplomacy failed
The Prime Minister reportedly cooked herself steamed Hilsha for Indian leaders at Rastrapati Bhaavan and Ms Mamata Benarjee was among others to taste the dish. Even she promised Mamata to cook for her when she will visit Dhaka. Some say it was part of her Hilsha diplomacy, but others pointed out that the Prime Minister has honestly tried to win the confidence of the Indian leaders as being one of their close friends breaking the protocol. But it did not work.
Critics pointed out that our government at times sidetracked public sentiments in making concessions to India considering close friendship with Delhi for helping in our liberation war. But her gestures ended up in a one-way traffic without similar response from the other side.
But Mr. Modi who is running the world’s largest democratic country, has opted to avoid, like his predecessor Dr Monmahan Singh, to use the constitutional power enjoyed by the Indian central government to decide over the issues concerning cross boundary rivers.
Perhaps our polite negotiators did not raise this legal point which they perhaps thought may embarrass the friendly host government. However, that did not prevent Bengal government’s Mamata Banerjee to effectively play politics with the Indian central government as well as Bangladesh and having the last laugh.
But skeptics in Dhaka also tend to believe that it was part of a total game plan hatched by the Indian establishments that since Dhaka refused to sign the defence pact on dotted line, it used the West Bengal CM pulling the string.
The agreements signed
Prime Minister’s visit to India became highly controversial as the reports from New Delhi attempted to mainly focus on the signing of defence deals with India. This naturally, raised eye brows from many quarters in Bangladesh about the need of such deals. They believe that defence is an inclusive and secretive matter of a country, its sharing will only destroy the effectiveness of our armed services.
Media report said MoUs on defence cooperation framework between the two countries, enhancing cooperation in the field of strategic and operational studies between defence services command and staff college, Mirpur, and defence services staff college, in Tamil Nadu were signed. Besides, agreements on increased cooperation in the field of national security, development and strategic studies between national defence college, Dhaka and National defence college, New Delhi, cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space and co-operation in the field of information technology and electronics were also inked.
Other deals include cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the two countries; exchange of technical information and co-operation in the regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection; cooperation regarding nuclear power plant projects in Bangladesh between Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and audio-visual co-production between the governments of Bangladesh and India.
Agreements on the regulation of motor vehicle passenger traffic (Khulna-Kolkata route) and SOP of the agreement between Bangladesh and India and construction of 36 community clinics in Bangladesh, cooperation in the area of cyber security; establishing border haats, bilateral judicial sector cooperation, training and capacity building program for Bangladeshi judicial officers, cooperation on aids to sea line navigation were signed.
In addition MoUs were signed on mutual scientific cooperation in the field of earth sciences for research and development, MoUs & SOPs on passenger and cruise services on the coastal and protocol route, development of fairway from Sirajganj to Daikhowa and Ashuganj to Zakiganj, cooperation in the field of mass media, extending defence LOC” (line of credit) of $500 million and extending a third line of credit (LoC)” by India to Bangladesh.
Faruque Ahmed
The much hyped official visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Delhi is under increased focus on what it has achieved from the perspective of Bangladesh national interest. India has got its shopping list of 22 deals including four MoUs for defence cooperation, besides inking several deals on big power projects, regional connectivity, education, science and health sectors etcetera.
But what appears to be the biggest setback is Dhaka’s failure to secure the Teesta water sharing agreement as Ms Mamata Benarjee foiled it for the third time now although there was evidently no lack of goodwill from the Indian central government to end the impasse.
Rather her new proposal this time to Dhaka to work to use water from five common rivers instead of Teesta water seems to be highly deceptive to shift the focus to new areas.
We have now the last hope to Narendra Modi’s assurance that Dhaka will
get Teesta water during the tenure of Sheikh Haasina government although it is an open ended assurance. But let us believe it. There is no way out also.
As Mamata said Teesta has no water to spare for Bangladesh blocking the deal, Modi has said now he is sending a team of experts to Bhutan to see the water reserves at the upstream of Teesta which originates from the Himalayas. He seems to be sincere in his attempt to resolve the crisis.
Mamata’s damaging role
Prime Minister Nerandra Modi tried to convince Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Benarjee to sign the deal like his former predecessor Dr Manmohon Singh. He too, was ready to sign the Teesta agreement during his 2011 visit to Dhaka. But Ms Mamata at the last minute in a surprise move abandoned her visit to Dhaka with Dr Singh aborting the attempt to settle the deal.
During Mr Modi’s visit to Dhaka in 2015 Mamata carefully avoided to accompany him and avoided signing the Teesta deal. For all practical purposes it appears that she had played an unethical game with Bangladesh people when she paid a visit to Dhaka on February 20, 2015 to convey her “love” for the people here.
On that occasion she had told the people to ‘keep faith in her’ to resolve the long standing Teesta issue. She made the assurance with some convincing words: “Please keep faith in me” and “Don’t’ worry about it.” But Ms Mamata now says Bangladesh should agree to use water of five common rivers instead of Teesta water.
At a meeting with Hasina last Saturday in Delhi, she remained unmoved, ignoring the previous pledge as the Bangladesh PM apparently tried to persuade her to agree to the Teesta water-sharing deal.
The Bengal chief minister brushed aside any prospect of a Teesta deal in the near future saying there was no water in the Teesta River. It was an outright embarrassment for the Bangladesh prime minister to swallow repeated failures to bring Teesta water and face serious misgivings from Bangladesh people for providing so many sensitive concessions to India in the last several years without getting anything tangible in return. This is a serious setback for her.
Hilsa diplomacy failed
The Prime Minister reportedly cooked herself steamed Hilsha for Indian leaders at Rastrapati Bhaavan and Ms Mamata Benarjee was among others to taste the dish. Even she promised Mamata to cook for her when she will visit Dhaka. Some say it was part of her Hilsha diplomacy, but others pointed out that the Prime Minister has honestly tried to win the confidence of the Indian leaders as being one of their close friends breaking the protocol. But it did not work.
Critics pointed out that our government at times sidetracked public sentiments in making concessions to India considering close friendship with Delhi for helping in our liberation war. But her gestures ended up in a one-way traffic without similar response from the other side.
But Mr. Modi who is running the world’s largest democratic country, has opted to avoid, like his predecessor Dr Monmahan Singh, to use the constitutional power enjoyed by the Indian central government to decide over the issues concerning cross boundary rivers.
Perhaps our polite negotiators did not raise this legal point which they perhaps thought may embarrass the friendly host government. However, that did not prevent Bengal government’s Mamata Banerjee to effectively play politics with the Indian central government as well as Bangladesh and having the last laugh.
But skeptics in Dhaka also tend to believe that it was part of a total game plan hatched by the Indian establishments that since Dhaka refused to sign the defence pact on dotted line, it used the West Bengal CM pulling the string.
The agreements signed
Prime Minister’s visit to India became highly controversial as the reports from New Delhi attempted to mainly focus on the signing of defence deals with India. This naturally, raised eye brows from many quarters in Bangladesh about the need of such deals. They believe that defence is an inclusive and secretive matter of a country, its sharing will only destroy the effectiveness of our armed services.
Media report said MoUs on defence cooperation framework between the two countries, enhancing cooperation in the field of strategic and operational studies between defence services command and staff college, Mirpur, and defence services staff college, in Tamil Nadu were signed. Besides, agreements on increased cooperation in the field of national security, development and strategic studies between national defence college, Dhaka and National defence college, New Delhi, cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space and co-operation in the field of information technology and electronics were also inked.
Other deals include cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the two countries; exchange of technical information and co-operation in the regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection; cooperation regarding nuclear power plant projects in Bangladesh between Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and audio-visual co-production between the governments of Bangladesh and India.
Agreements on the regulation of motor vehicle passenger traffic (Khulna-Kolkata route) and SOP of the agreement between Bangladesh and India and construction of 36 community clinics in Bangladesh, cooperation in the area of cyber security; establishing border haats, bilateral judicial sector cooperation, training and capacity building program for Bangladeshi judicial officers, cooperation on aids to sea line navigation were signed.
In addition MoUs were signed on mutual scientific cooperation in the field of earth sciences for research and development, MoUs & SOPs on passenger and cruise services on the coastal and protocol route, development of fairway from Sirajganj to Daikhowa and Ashuganj to Zakiganj, cooperation in the field of mass media, extending defence LOC” (line of credit) of $500 million and extending a third line of credit (LoC)” by India to Bangladesh.
