Sources say that Modi has already made moves in this regard as earlier, in a letter to Mamata, he invited her to visit Delhi to attend a dinner hosted by him for the Bangladesh Prime Minister
By setting aside protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a few anxious moments to the Special Protection Group (SPG) and Delhi police, when he rushed to the airport to receive Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has arrived in the Capital on a four-day visit. But analysts say that the willingness of the PM to do so shows the importance he attaches to her visit.
The Teesta water sharing issue is one of the many key issues that India and Bangladesh have to resolve, and for that the Prime Minister will have to convince a reluctant West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Sources say that Modi has already made moves in this regard as earlier, in a letter to Mamata, he invited her to visit Delhi to attend a dinner hosted by him for the Bangladesh Prime Minister. It was not just the PM alone. Even External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had also called on the West Bengal CM to seek her presence in Delhi.
Though Mamata has confirmed that she will be attending certain ceremonial events, hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee and the PM, sources say that she has not given any indication to give up her opposition to the water-sharing pact. Mamata’s opposition to this deal has caused previous governments problems in the past. In 2011, she had, at the last moment, dropped out of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit over her opposition to the draft on the Teesta agreement, which was set to be inked then.
But while the PM will have to manage Mamata, he will also have to use skillful diplomacy with the Bangladesh prime minister. Coinciding with her visit, Sheikh Hasina gave vent to her frustration in an interview, asking when India and Bangladesh share many commonalities and have demonstrated the will to resolve issues — like the long-standing land boundary agreement — then why should the Teesta water sharing issue be allowed to linger? Politically, the Teesta issue is being raked up by the Opposition in Dhaka against Sheikh Hasina, who are blaming her for giving too many concessions to India, without reciprocity.
After bilateral discussions scheduled on Saturday, both sides are slated to be signing at least 25 pacts in various key sectors including civil nuclear cooperation and defence. India is also set to announce a line of credit of US $500 million to Bangladesh for military supplies.
President Pranab Mukherjee will also be crucial to cementing ties between the two countries. On Sunday evening, the President is hosting a dinner for Sheikh Hasina, where, besides Mamata, he has also invited the chief ministers of other states bordering Bangladesh — Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. The President is believed to have a special relationship with Sheikh Hasina that goes beyond diplomatic protocols. He is believed to have mentored her during a long spell when she lived in New Delhi’s Pandara Road after the assassination of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
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