The Parliament on Thursday unanimously passed the historic Bill on land Boundary Agreement to pave the way for settling the four-decade-long border dispute with Bangladesh for exchange of territories. Soon after the passage of the Bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked up to the Opposition benches to thank leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, BJDs Bhartruhari Mahtab, TMC Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
“I want to convey my gratitude to our NDA allies for the support and co-operation that led to passage of India-Bangladesh land Boundary Bill. Spoke to Sonia, Kharge, Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi, Yechury, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Naveen babu and Sharad Yadav. I thanked these leaders for their support in the historic passage of the Bill that will mark a fresh chapter in our ties with Bangladesh,” the Prime Minister said in a statement later.
“Today a historic milestone has been reached in India-Bangladesh relations after the passing of the Constitutional Amendment by Parliament. The Amendment passed ensures a permanent settlement of the land boundary with Bangladesh and resolution of long-pending boundary issues. This would contribute to a stable and peaceful boundary, better management and coordination of the border and will lead to enhanced security as well,” PM added. Modi also thanked States of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal. “This reflects the collective will of the nation to build constructive relations with our neighbours,” he added.
PM also spoke to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. “Spoke to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and conveyed greetings to the people of Bangladesh on this landmark occasion,” Modi tweeted.
Bangladesh thanked India for clearing the operationalisation of the land Boundary Agreement. “This is a great day. I am a lucky man to have witnessed this. Whatever little bit work is left will be completed soon. We thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj”, said Syed Muazzem Ali, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India. Bangladesh is exploring a possible visit by Modi to Dhaka in first week of next June.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said it was beneficial for both the countries and that there will be a “notional” loss of territory without borders getting contracted. India will get 510 acres while Bangladesh will get 10,000 acres. “But these are notional figures as these areas are deep inside territories of the two countries. Our borders are not getting contracted,” she said, while responding to members' questions whether India will lose some territory.
Swaraj said the measure, apart from demarcating the boundaries, would also help checking illegal immigration. “A solution to the problem of illegal immigration is inherent in this legislation. With the land border now being decided with the passage of the Bill, the portions where there is no fencing will also get fenced,” she said.
The External Affairs Minister said the only issue which remained to be settled with Bangladesh was that of river water-sharing, primarily relating to Teesta River. “The way in which we are now settling the land boundary issue, we will try to settle this issue also.”
She also announced a package of Rs 3,008 crore to West Bengal for rehabilitation Indian nationals who will come from Bangladesh, with their numbers estimated to go up to 30,000. Of this amount, Rs 775 crore is for expenses on fixed infrastructure and the remaining amount would be for variable expenses, depending upon how many people are to be rehabilitated by the State Government.
Swaraj, in her speech, also referred to the Indira Gandhi-Mujibur Rahman land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and the historic protocol signed between former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bangladesh President Sheikh Hasina in September 2011 paving the way for elimination of Bangladeshi and Indian territorial enclaves.