In a rare display of unanimity, the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Constitution (119th) Amendment Bill to operationalise the historic 1974 land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh in one voice. The Bill, which got support from all 181 members present in the House, will now be taken up by the lok Sabha on Thursday.
The Bill amends the First Schedule of the Constitution to give effect to an agreement entered into by India and Bangladesh on acquiring and transfer of territories between the two countries on May 16, 1974. This will lead to the acquiring of territories by India and transfer of territories to Bangladesh through retaining of adverse possession and exchange of enclaves in pursuance of the agreement of 1974. The territories in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya come under the ambit of the Bill.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too was present in the House to vote in favour of the Bill, which was first brought by the UPA Government in 2013. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who first acknowledged Singh’s presence during the voting of the “historic” Bill, later walked up to the former PM’s seat to express gratitude.
While presenting the Bill, Swaraj gave due credit to the UPA Government for piloting the Bill and even mentioned late PM Indira Gandhi in initiating the agreement with Bangladesh in 1974. She also acknowledged the fact that BJP was one of the three parties to oppose the Bill in the past. The other two were AGP and TMC. Swaraj said AGP and BJP felt that Assam was neglected when the agreement was signed while Trinamool Congress said it was not consulted enough.
However, following the Standing Committee report and support from Assam and West Bengal Chief Ministers, all concerns have been addressed. She joked that the Bill is nearly the same as that brought by UPA, except minor changes.
“I want to tell Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma that the Bill is the same that had come before the House on December 18, 2013. There have been only a few changes in the Bill in which the name of External Affairs Minister is now Sushma Swaraj in place of Salman Khurshid and the year of the Bill is 2015 in place of 2013,” Swaraj said.
While replying to the discussion on the Bill, Swaraj clarified that there is exchange of land, there is no exchange of population and that people can chose whether they want to live in India or Bangladesh. Those Bangladeshi citizens whose land will now be part of India can be given Indian citizenship if they wish. She also allayed concerns that there is no Rsshrinking of boundaries’ and India only stands to gain with this agreement.
later as the Bill got passed with absolute majority, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien termed it a “historic day,” and urged members to show same unanimity when other Bills are passed.
Meanwhile, while praising Swaraj for her humility and honesty in admitting that the land Boundary Bill was originally brought by the UPA in 2013, and that BJP had oppose it then, leader of Opposition Azad took a dig at other Ministers of the Government for their aggressive posturing in the House and trying to push their legislative business. He added that Treasury Benches need to keep their tone and tenor in check if they want to conduct legislative business with ease.
“If you ask me why other Bills are not passed with such bonhomie, I can only say that harsh words from your side that even go on to criticize our forefathers lead to such situations where we also have to oppose. The khichdi from your side is made of too much salt and spices that spoils the taste,” Azad said.