Teesta deal to be signed in time, says Awami League's Obaidul Quader

The deal for sharing Teesta's waters would be signed with India in time, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said.

He made the statement in response to BNP’s concern over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s India tour due next month.

“The Teesta deal will be signed in time, if not today. Sheikh Hasina has signed the Ganges Water Treaty before. She will ink the Teesta deal as well,” Quader said at a discussion in Dhaka on Friday.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir recently commented that people of the country were in the dark about the prime minister’s India tour.

He criticised her for the delay in signing the Teesta deal and also remarked that the country’s freedom may be jeopardised if a defence deal is signed with India.

Hasina's three-day India visit starts on Apr 7.

In 2011, then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Dhaka when the Teesta deal was supposed to be signed.

But it was put off amid staunch resistance from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The deal was left in limbo when BJP's Narendra Modi swept to power in India.

Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud recently said the government was hopeful about the deal even if it is not signed during Hasina's April tour. 

Mamata Banerjee, however, told at a TV show in Kolkata on Wednesday that she heard that the Teesta deal was due to be signed on May 25.

The central government of India was yet to inform her over the matter, she added.

Referring to the Land Border Agreement, Quader said, “Since such a grave issue has been solved, the signing of Teesta deal is now a matter of time only."

“Bangladesh will sign deals that it itself benefits from while securing its sovereignty."

He came down hard on BNP for “causing harm to the country” by “ignoring India for 21 years.”

“Now we want to nurture the relationship with India based on equality.”

In response to Mirza Fakhrul’s call for 'level playing field', Quader said: “By level playing field, they (BNP) mean a guarantee of victory. That we cannot provide.”

He also slammed BNP Standing Committee Member Moudud Ahmed for blaming the government for “creating drama over militancy to stay in power.”

“Those who back militancy are now enraged,” said Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister.

The discussion was organised by the Bangladesh Krishok League on the occasion of Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth anniversary.