The BNP has expressed its gratitude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders for the Indian parliament’s ratification of a historic bill to settle the 41-year-old border issue between the two countries.
Asaduzzaman Ripon, BNP's international affairs secretary, while addressing a press briefing at the party's headquarters, said: “Today (Thursday) is an important day in our nation's life as, after a long time, the Land Boundary Agreement was passed in the Indian parliament.”
“On behalf of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, I thank Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Indian premier Manmohan Singh, Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for passing the Constitution Amendment bill to operationalise the LBA.”
The Constitution Amendment bill on the India-Bangladesh land swap has been passed in both the upper and lower houses of the Indian parliament.
The LBA Bill is aimed at redrawing the international boundary between India and Bangladesh by exchanging areas of adverse possession and enclaves along with population on either side, thus making the highly incongruous and porous Indo-Bangla border more manageable.
Once the Indo-Bangladesh border gets redrawn, India will transfer 111 enclaves measuring 17,160.63 acres to Bangladesh and receive 51 enclaves measuring 7,110.2 acres.
The bill would also require a nod by the legislatures of West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam.
Prime Minister Hasina in a statement on Thursday called the development a “new milestone in the long-standing relationship between the two countries.”
Modi on Thursday called Hasina to greet the Bangladeshis, and a spokesman of her office told PTI that during the conversation the Indian premier told her “the agreement signed by your father has been passed during your tenure today.”
The ratification of the LBA in the Indian parliament is the second major development in bilateral relations after the long pending issue of maritime boundary was resolved in an international arbitration in The Hague last year, while Dhaka now awaits inking of a deal over the share of waters in the common Teesta river.