Bangladesh Parliament passes motion thanking India

Bangladesh has thanked India and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resolving a long-standing border issue.

Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed a motion thanking India, four days before Modi’s scheduled Dhaka visit.

The Indian Parliament’s lower and upper houses ratified the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Bill last month, clearing way for swapping enclaves with Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Cabinet on May 25 ratified the LBA protocol.

Taking part in the discussion, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recalled how India stood by Bangladesh during the 1971 Liberation War.

“India has always stood by Bangladesh in times of need,” she said.

Leader of the Opposition Raushon Ershad and 18 other MPs took part in the discussion on the motion.

Raushon lauded the Indian prime minister and hoped other outstanding bilateral issues would be resolved as well.

She praised Modi for his political wisdom.

The BNP, which boycotted the last general elections, has also welcomed the LBA ratification.

The 1974 treaty over the border issue between India and Bangladesh had not been implemented for necessary amendments in Indian Constitution.

The Indian government headed by Manmohan Singh initiated the change and the present government, headed by Modi, finally cleared it.

India’s Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha passed the LBA bill last month, ahead of Modi’s visit.

During the discussion in Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hasina also thanked India’s Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the chief ministers of the neighbouring Indian states and the members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

She again thanked Modi for fulfilling the promise of passing the LBA he had made during a meeting with her in the US.

After the passage of the bill, Modi called Hasina to give her the news personally.

Hasina said she did not care for protocol in thanking Gandhi, Swaraj and the people of India.

“Now I am thanking you through Parliament,” she said.

About Modi’s visit, she said, “He is coming with a big gift for the people of Bangladesh – the border agreement.”

“The agreement would have been passed a long time ago if Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) was alive,” she added.

The prime minister said her government was working to strengthen Bangladesh’s position among South Asian countries.

“We all will have to work together in order to remove our common enemy – poverty. That’s why mutual friendship is important,” she said.

Jatiya Party Chairman Hussein Muhammad Ershad said, “There is some heart-felt joy, thanks to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

“The agreement initiated by Mujib and Indira (Gandhi) has been realised by Hasina and Modi,” he added.

He also urged the prime minister to take steps to settle the Teesta water-sharing issue without delay.

Workers’ Party chief Rashed Khan Menon lauded Hasina’s ‘diplomatic foresight’.

He said Modi’s visit would raise the possibility of settling the water-sharing issue.