Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Panel says land boundary pact with Dhaka in India’s interest
BackBack

Panel says land boundary pact with Dhaka in India’s interest

The ratification of the pact would result in delineating the 4,096km border by removing all anomalies

The recommendation is likely to provide the backing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seal the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh. Photo: HTPremium
The recommendation is likely to provide the backing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seal the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh. Photo: HT

New Delhi: A land boundary pact between India and Bangladesh that was initialled in 2011, but vetoed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in opposition, is in India’s interest and should be ratified by Parliament, the parliamentary panel on external affairs said.

The recommendation—made in a report tabled in Parliament on Monday—is likely to provide the backing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seal the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh, a neighbour that is key to Indian attempts to quell insurgency in its northeast and develop the region.

According to Shashi Tharoor, the Congress party MP who heads the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, the recommendation was unanimous. “The committee has members of the (ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) BJP, the CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and the TMC (Trinamool Congress)," Tharoor said, adding, “Everyone is on board."

The ratification of the pact would result in delineating the 4,096km border by removing all anomalies, a person familiar with the development said. Fencing along a clearly delineated border will deter illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, the person said.

The report said “the committee are of the strong opinion that the Constitution (One Hundred and Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2013, is in the overall national interest as it would pave the way for broader bilateral ties with one of our closest neighbours, Bangladesh".

The person cited above said: “India has longstanding boundary disputes with Pakistan and China. The boundary problem with Bangladesh is the easiest to solve." 

The standing committee report clears the decks for the removal of a major irritant between India and Bangladesh. The pact paves the way for the settlement of long-pending land boundary issues, including undemarcated areas, territories under adverse possession and exchange of enclaves—a web of tiny land-locked areas belonging to one country but lying within the territory of the other country.

“I would see the importance of this in the bilateral context first," said C.U. Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies think tank in New Delhi. “It will be seen as an example of how India can arrive at solutions to problems affecting its neighbours and in the long run add to India’s credibility, burnishing its image" in the region where China has made inroads and is establishing its profile, he said.

The additional protocol to the LBA was signed by then prime minister Manmohan Singh in September 2011, but it was not ratified because the then government failed to get Parliament’s backing.

When the land boundary Bill was tabled in Parliament in December last year it was met with strenuous objections from Modi’s BJP and the Asom Gana Parishad party of Assam.

It was referred to the standing committee after both parties vetoed the Bill mainly on the grounds that India would lose some 10,000 acres of land under the terms of the agreement when Bangladesh took over 111 enclaves (17,160 acres) from India’s possession and India in turn received 51 enclaves (7,110 acres) from Bangladesh.

However, the terms of the agreement remain unchanged.

On Sunday, Modi, on a visit to northeastern states, told a rally of BJP supporters in Assam that the ratification of the LBA would stop the flow of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into India—a key concern for his BJP and some regional parties.

Anuja contributed to this story

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 02 Dec 2014, 12:05 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App