The Centre’s persuasion and financial assurance made Mamata Banerjee take a relook at the proposed Teesta water sharing agreement and to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his maiden trip to Bangladesh over the next weekend.
While the treaty for sharing Teesta waters is unlikely during the trip, officials in India and Bangladesh do not rule out an interim arrangement or in-principle agreement that could be achieved during the trip. The Union Cabinet is likely to meet here on Saturday to finalise the proposed outcome and deliverables (including proposed Teesta pact) of Modi’s June 6-7 trip.
Determined not to repeat the fiasco of 2011, when Banerjee pulled out of a trip to Dhaka with then PM Manmohan Singh’s entourage, the BJP-led NDA government worked to bring Banerjee on board. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who has good equations with Banerjee took the lead role in trying to convince Banerjee, sources said. Swaraj is understood to have worked behind the scene for the past few months to secure Banerjee’s consent.
Home minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Kolkata this week also helped to reach out to the CM. The Modi government has offered financial assistance to West Bengal for developing irrigation infrastructure and to use Teesta water particularly during the dry season. Sources pointed out that West Bengal taps only 25% of Teesta water at the moment. The CM had earlier sought over 80% of Teesta waters for Bengal, leaving downstream Bangladesh with less than 20%.
- ToI
