West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accepted an invitation from Sheikh Hasina's government to participate in the International Mother Language Day celebrations in Dhaka on February 21.
Published : 06 Jan 2015, 02:09 PM
Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Zokey Ahad said on Tuesday that he called on Banerjee's office on Monday to hand over the written invitation from Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.
Mamata readily agreed to be the guest of honour, Ahad said.
"I love Bangladesh and its people. We were one until Partition. We all have an emotional attachment with Bangladesh and if the people of Bangladesh are happy, we're also happy. It is mutually beneficial to have good ties with each other," the chief minister told mediapersons on Tuesday.
Mamata recalled that she was the one to start 'Bhasa Divas' celebrations in Kolkata on Feb 21 when she was a Lok Sabha MP, with money from her MP local area development fund.
It has since become an annual feature in Bengal and Kolkata Municipal Corporation now funds the celebrations in the city.
Banerjee's proposed trip to Dhaka marks a major turnaround from her stance in September 2011 when she dropped out of a delegation headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka to sign treaties on Teesta water sharing and exchange of enclaves, says the 'Times of India'.
She opposed both these treaties on grounds that the Teesta agreement would lead to a sharp decline in Bengal's share of the river's waters and adversely effect farming in North Bengal, while the exchange of enclaves would mean loss of land for the state.
But over the past few weeks, since she came under huge pressure over the Saradha scam and the terror patronage allegations following the Oct 2 Burdwan blasts, Banerjee changed her stance.
She has recently expressed support for the exchange of enclaves.
She is also veering around to supporting the Teesta treaty, albeit with some of her concerns being addressed in a reworked pact, says the 'Times of India'.
Mamata's opposition to the two pacts and her refusal to accompany Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh had led to a souring of relations.
Subsequent efforts by bureaucrats and senior leaders from New Delhi, as well as emissaries from Dhaka, had failed to convince Mamata.
Then came the CBI probe into the Saradha scam, in which a Trinamool MP was implicated for suspected links to Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and the unearthing of the Bangladeshi terror module in Burdwan.
The acceptance of this invitation from Dhaka is seen as a masterstroke by Mamata since her presence at Bhasa Divas— which holds immense emotional significance for Bangladeshis — will endear her to the people of that country and also address concerns in Bangladesh about her.
Analysts say her move will help strengthen ties between West Bengal and Bangladesh at a time both need each other as never before.
If the two agreements are signed following a nod by Mamata, it will take the wind out of the sails of the Opposition in Bangladesh and strengthen the position of the Hasina government.
Improved relations with Hasina , who is very popular with Bengalis here for her strong anti-fundamentalist stance and her tough action against Northeastern rebels, will help Mamata counter BJP allegation over her closeness with Islamic radicals and win back support in West Bengal.
It is learnt that Mamata will take along with her senior minister Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, as well as a cultural troupe, to Bangladesh.
She will fly to Dhaka on February 19 and return after attending the Feb 21 celebrations.
While Bangladesh Deputy High Commission sources in Kolkata told bdnews24.com that the details of the visit are being worked out by Dhaka, Trinamool sources said Mamata will have meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her senior cabinet ministers.
The visit will afford Sheikh Hasina an opportunity to convince Mamata to change her mind on the Teesta treaty.
Banerjee's decision to travel to Dhaka will certainly please the ruling dispensation in New Delhi and will strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pitch to enhance ties with Bangladesh.
She was being seen as a hurdle in better Indo-Bangla ties and senior BJP spokesperson and former editor MJ Akbar said that in no uncertain terms recently.