Mamata again plays the spoilsport as Modi ditches Teesta deal to bring her to Bangladesh: Report

An Indian newspaper says West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to make the Dhaka trip with Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month on his assurance that the Teesta water-sharing agreement will not be signed.

The Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), allowing exchange of enclaves between the countries, is likely to be given top priority.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent announcement in Kolkata that the water-sharing accord would be finalised soon had irked Banerjee, according to the ‘Anandabazar Patrika’.

The central government has assured the West Bengal chief minister that Modi would not talk about the deal during hisJune 6-7 visit.

Singh, too, clarified that he did not mean the deal would be signed during the trip but in near future through mutual discussion, the report added.

Banerjee’s stern opposition had stalled the deal four years ago during then then prime minister Manmohan Singh’s visit.

But when she was in Dhaka in February this year, she had assured Bangladesh of her full support in resolving the outstanding issue.

“I’m not opposed to the Teesta deal but the agreement should not be signed depriving the north Bengal,” Anandabazar quoted Banerjee as saying.

It said Banerjee had appointed hydrologist Kalyan Rudra to look into the issue and added that the state would take a final decision on the matter based on his report.

Two years ago, Banerjee had unceremoniously shelved a report on Teesta River by Rudra, according to sources in the West Bengal government.

She said the old agreement had some faults and her chief secretary informed the Centre about them.

The chief minister said she had told Prime Minister Hasina about her stance on the issue during her Dhaka visit.

“Bangladesh and India have no negative relations. But we cannot accept any one-sided decision because West Bengal’s interest is my top priority,” Banerjee said.