Apparently worried over her futile Delhi tour, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has admitted that it will surely be frustrating if two pressing issues - Teesta and land boundary agreement (LBA) -- are not signed with India.
“If the deals aren’t signed, it’ll surely be frustrating and the consequences might fall on the country,” she said while responding to a question after meetings with Indian top leaders, reports Kolkata-based Anandabazar on Saturday.
The Foreign Minister was asked whether there will be any impact on the next election in Bangladesh if these two issues remained unsettled.
Dipu Moni, however, said people will understand and they have seen that the previous governments did not take any initiative to settle the issues. “These are not today’s issues. These have remained pending for decades.”
She said the incumbent government has brought the issues at final stage, and expressed her hope that all will understand that.
Dipu Moni had also hold talks with her counterpart Salman Khurshid at dinner where they also discussed the Teesta and LBA issues.
She said in democracy there are different opinions on a particular issue. “We’ve to leave aside minor interests for the sake of greater national interests. I do hope, Indian elected representatives will do that.”
The Bangla Daily also claimed that apparently Dipu Moni is returning home “empty-handed” before general elections in Bangladesh and Dhaka knows well that the key to passing the LBA in Indian parliament is in BJP’s hand.
It said though Dipu Moni had a lengthy meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley, also the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) leader of the party, but the BJP leader did not give any categorical assurance that his party would support this agreement.
“But the ice didn’t melt. Jaitley didn’t give positive feedback to Dipu Moni’s request. He only says he will take the decision in consultation with party leaders,” the newspaper report said.
It also said there was no outcome on the Teesta Water Sharing deal during the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Sources said Dipu Moni wanted to know whether Indian Parliament will be able to pass a Constitutional Amendment Bill (on LBA) in its session, beginning Monday.
The Bill, if passed, will put the final seal of approval on the settlement negotiated by the two countries during the tenure of the Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The introduction of the Bill, which requires two-thirds of members present to vote in favour, therefore needs bipartisan support. It was stalled in the Rajya Sabha during the last session following Opposition protests.
At a public engagement in New Delhi, Dipu Moni expressed Bangladesh’s desire to settle the outstanding land boundary issues with India and said it would be an election issue in her country along with the Teesta Treaty, which could not be signed due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.