The Trinamool Congress government of West Bengal has decided to withdraw its objection to the long-pending land-swap deal between India and Bangladesh.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee might announce the new stand of her government at a rally in Cooch Behar today.
Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra informed the Indian Union Home Ministry last week that the state government wants to settle the enclave issue which is being dragged for over six decades now, UNB yesterday cited a report carried by the Kolkata-based daily Anandabazaar Patrika on Wednesday.
However, the state government wants the Indian central government to take up the issue of developing the land area that will be added to West Bengal, in terms of administration and infrastructure, the report said.
The venue Mamata’s rally is very close to the Bangladeshi enclave, which suggests that the reports about the big announcement could be true.
Mamata had hinted at her party’s changing role on the enclave issue before the Lok Sabha election in March. When the draft of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) was made during a parliamentary panel meeting last week, the Trinamool representatives agreed to it.
The new stand of the TMC is a marked departure from what it had spoken earlier on the issue. Mamata had stalled talks between India and Bangladesh over the sharing of Teesta River water and also pulled out of the Bangladesh-bound entourage of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, causing immense embarrassment to New Delhi.
The protocol that was signed between New Delhi and Dhaka in 2011 could not be ratified in parliament. In September 2013, when the then Congress government at India’s centre tried to table the bill in Rajya Sabha, it was torn off by the protesting TMC lawmakers.
It was said that the enclave swap would put Mamata’s key vote bank of minorities under threat.
According to The Indian Express, Trinamool MP Renuka Sinha from Cooch Behar said: “Our party had some serious issues with the protocol and its clauses. If the protocol is ratified, our state would lose a huge quantum of land too and there are certain other issues. But Didi [Mamata] wants the agreement to be implemented as she can feel the pain of the people living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh.”
Excited with the news, enclave dwellers swung into a celebration mood. They also celebrated the birth anniversary of late Dipak Sengupta, a Forward Bloc MLA who first spearheaded the movement for the enclave people.
This would be the first interaction between the residents of Chitmahal and the head of the state.
Zokey Ahad, deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh, told the Indian Express: “We are hopeful that the agreement would be implemented soon. Both the countries are active to get it implemented.”
On Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government would utilise the LTA with Bangladesh in a manner that it serves the long-term security interests.
