India considers excluding Assam from Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh

Even before the contentious Land Boundary Agreement Bill between India and Bangladesh gets approval from the Indian Parliament, New Delhi is considering exclusion of Assam from the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill.

The bill is supposed to be tabled in the second sitting of the budget session starting from May 18.

India’s Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, has said the constitutional amendment Bill to ratify the LBA is likely to be introduced in Parliament with a major change by delinking Assam.

“There are lots of protest and problems in Assam over the LBA. So, Assam will be kept out of LBA for now. 

“We are moving in that direction. This is beneficial for both countries,” Rijiju said.

This move will certainly annoy the Bangladesh government and it is unlikely to accept any such move.

It has also been mentioned in the agreement that India cannot make any change unilaterally without consulting Dhaka.

Interestingly, officials in India’s external affairs ministry have expressed ignorance over such move, initiated by the country’s home ministry.

It is believed that the move to exclude Assam from the agreement was taken considering the fact that Assam goes to election next year.

As cross sections of people in this northeastern state have been opposing the ‘transfer of Assam land’ to Bangladesh, the BJP government is apparently playing safe as it eyes to capture power there.

Notwithstanding that the new regime in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept saying that the LBA would get the approval of Parliament and “it is beneficial for both the countries.”

It has been learnt that a Cabinet note excluding Assam from the LBA is being prepared in this regard.