Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious “neighbourhood outreach” policy could hit a roadblock if the National Democratic Alliance government does not act swiftly to ratify the long-pending Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh as promised to Dhaka.
Although the Bharatiya Janata Party had opposed the agreement while it was in opposition, Modi assured Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at their first meeting in New York last year that his government would push through the Indo-Bangla land agreement as part of its efforts to improve relations with its eastern neighbour.
However, realpolitik may well force Modi to go slow on this issue. The BJP’s Assam unit fears that the party could pay a heavy political price in the 2016 assembly elections if the ruling alliance goes ahead with this agreement.
Modi first indicated his party’s changed position on this agreement when he addressed BJP workers in Guwahati in December. He sought to allay their fears on the possible loss of territory, declaring, “I assure you there will be no compromise on Assam’s security. Land swapping will be done for a permanent solution to the problem of infiltration.”
Emotive issue in Assam
Although the BJP in New Delhi has reversed its stand on coming to power, the party unit in Assam is finding it difficult to explain this U-turn to the public. Placed in an awkward position, it is urging the party leadership not to rush through with the agreement as it could have serious political implications for the party.
It would like the ruling alliance to keep it on hold till after the 2016 Assembly elections as the Asom Gana Parishad and students’ organisations like the All Assam Students Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad are all set to whip up passions on this issue.
The BJP’s Assam unit is working on toppling the three-term Congress government in Assam by cashing in on Modi’s popularity and the party’s spectacular performance in the state in the last Lok Sabha polls. It obviously does not want anything to derail this effort.
“As you are well aware, land is an emotive issue,” remarked an Assam BJP leader. “We need more time so that we can explain the positive side of this agreement to the people.”
As a result of this, the Modi government is not displaying any urgency in pushing ahead with the land agreement. The Parliament standing committee on external affairs, which scrutinised this agreement, submitted its report in early December but the issue is yet to be placed on the agenda of the Union Cabinet even though the government is not expected to face any obstacle in getting parliamentary approval. Even the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which had vociferously blocked the agreement when the United Progressive Alliance government was in power, has given its conditional support to this pact. All the old roadblocks have now been removed.
Ups and downs
The parliamentary panel has recommended that the agreement be ratified without any delay as it is in national interest and will pave the way for broader ties with the neighbouring country. However, the agreement did not figure in the NDA government’s agenda in the last winter session of Parliament and may not come up in the forthcoming budget session either. The government can always maintain that it will be preoccupied in this session with financial matters and with the passage of the ordinances it had promulgated last month.
New Delhi and Dhaka had signed a protocol on the implementation of the land agreement when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Bangladesh in 2011.
The pact was considered a major diplomatic breakthrough as it would finally result in the demarcation of the border between the two neighbours, an issue that had been hanging fire for 44 years. The land boundary agreement was signed way back in 1974 but never ratified by Parliament.
The pact is a politically sensitive issue as it involves the exchange of land between the two countries. According to the provisions of this pact, India and Bangladesh would swap land or “enclaves” which belong to one country but are located in the other’s territory. This would require India to hand over 17,000 acres of land to Bangladesh in return for 7,000 acres in 111 enclaves. The states involved in the exchange are Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Since the agreement involves the redrawing of boundaries, it has to be endorsed by Parliament through a Constitutional Amendment Bill, which has to be approved by 50% of the strength of the House and two-thirds of the members present and voting.
Frustration in Dhaka
This historic agreement ran into rough weather immediately after Manmohan Singh’s visit as both the BJP and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee objected to it, causing huge embarrassment both to the UPA government and the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh.
Dhaka had leaned on New Delhi to at least make an attempt at the passage of the Bill as the delay in its passage had put the Bangladesh prime minister in the line of fire from her political rivals who accused her of bartering away the interests of the country.
However, the UPA government’s efforts were effectively thwarted by the BJP and the Trinamool Congress who maintained that the area being ceded by India was far greater that what it would get in exchange.
Any further delay in the passage of the Bill may not impair India’s relations with Bangladesh, but it will add to the growing frustration in Dhaka, which has been waiting patiently for a positive response from India.
Although the Bharatiya Janata Party had opposed the agreement while it was in opposition, Modi assured Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at their first meeting in New York last year that his government would push through the Indo-Bangla land agreement as part of its efforts to improve relations with its eastern neighbour.
However, realpolitik may well force Modi to go slow on this issue. The BJP’s Assam unit fears that the party could pay a heavy political price in the 2016 assembly elections if the ruling alliance goes ahead with this agreement.
Modi first indicated his party’s changed position on this agreement when he addressed BJP workers in Guwahati in December. He sought to allay their fears on the possible loss of territory, declaring, “I assure you there will be no compromise on Assam’s security. Land swapping will be done for a permanent solution to the problem of infiltration.”
Emotive issue in Assam
Although the BJP in New Delhi has reversed its stand on coming to power, the party unit in Assam is finding it difficult to explain this U-turn to the public. Placed in an awkward position, it is urging the party leadership not to rush through with the agreement as it could have serious political implications for the party.
It would like the ruling alliance to keep it on hold till after the 2016 Assembly elections as the Asom Gana Parishad and students’ organisations like the All Assam Students Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad are all set to whip up passions on this issue.
The BJP’s Assam unit is working on toppling the three-term Congress government in Assam by cashing in on Modi’s popularity and the party’s spectacular performance in the state in the last Lok Sabha polls. It obviously does not want anything to derail this effort.
“As you are well aware, land is an emotive issue,” remarked an Assam BJP leader. “We need more time so that we can explain the positive side of this agreement to the people.”
As a result of this, the Modi government is not displaying any urgency in pushing ahead with the land agreement. The Parliament standing committee on external affairs, which scrutinised this agreement, submitted its report in early December but the issue is yet to be placed on the agenda of the Union Cabinet even though the government is not expected to face any obstacle in getting parliamentary approval. Even the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which had vociferously blocked the agreement when the United Progressive Alliance government was in power, has given its conditional support to this pact. All the old roadblocks have now been removed.
Ups and downs
The parliamentary panel has recommended that the agreement be ratified without any delay as it is in national interest and will pave the way for broader ties with the neighbouring country. However, the agreement did not figure in the NDA government’s agenda in the last winter session of Parliament and may not come up in the forthcoming budget session either. The government can always maintain that it will be preoccupied in this session with financial matters and with the passage of the ordinances it had promulgated last month.
New Delhi and Dhaka had signed a protocol on the implementation of the land agreement when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Bangladesh in 2011.
The pact was considered a major diplomatic breakthrough as it would finally result in the demarcation of the border between the two neighbours, an issue that had been hanging fire for 44 years. The land boundary agreement was signed way back in 1974 but never ratified by Parliament.
The pact is a politically sensitive issue as it involves the exchange of land between the two countries. According to the provisions of this pact, India and Bangladesh would swap land or “enclaves” which belong to one country but are located in the other’s territory. This would require India to hand over 17,000 acres of land to Bangladesh in return for 7,000 acres in 111 enclaves. The states involved in the exchange are Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Since the agreement involves the redrawing of boundaries, it has to be endorsed by Parliament through a Constitutional Amendment Bill, which has to be approved by 50% of the strength of the House and two-thirds of the members present and voting.
Frustration in Dhaka
This historic agreement ran into rough weather immediately after Manmohan Singh’s visit as both the BJP and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee objected to it, causing huge embarrassment both to the UPA government and the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh.
Dhaka had leaned on New Delhi to at least make an attempt at the passage of the Bill as the delay in its passage had put the Bangladesh prime minister in the line of fire from her political rivals who accused her of bartering away the interests of the country.
However, the UPA government’s efforts were effectively thwarted by the BJP and the Trinamool Congress who maintained that the area being ceded by India was far greater that what it would get in exchange.
Any further delay in the passage of the Bill may not impair India’s relations with Bangladesh, but it will add to the growing frustration in Dhaka, which has been waiting patiently for a positive response from India.
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