India-Bangladesh ties will undergo a “transformation” if the Teesta water sharing agreement is concluded, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Monday. She had discussed the matter at length with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her visit to India, and had received assurances from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.
“On the Teesta issue, PM Modi once again reiterated his government’s strong resolve to conclude the water sharing treaty. Once it happens, the face of Indo-Bangladesh relations will undergo another transformation,” Ms. Hasina told an audience at an India Foundation event in Delhi that included Ministers, diplomats and members of Parliament.
“I didn’t know what Didi [Mamata Banerjee] would say. When I met her, she suggested something new [sharing water of other trans-border rivers],” Ms. Hasina said, breaking away from her written speech. “But then Modiji said, ‘we are here to look after it’ [Teesta].”
“We asked Didi for water, but at least we got electricity,” she added in a lighter vein, referring to the 100MW of extra power India had promised in the joint statement issued during the visit.
‘Friendliest’ ties
In a speech marked by some emotional moments, when she discussed India’s contribution to Bangladesh’s liberation, and several touches of humour, Ms. Hasina set out the course of India-Bangladesh relations, which she said were the “friendliest” for Bangladesh and cut across party lines in India.
“The land boundary agreement was supported unanimously in Parliament, for which I am grateful. That was a historic moment that united all people from all parties in India, and joined them with the people of Bangladesh. Like the 1971 war, when we shed blood together, side by side, this was another such moment,” Ms. Hasina said, visibly tearing up during the speech.
The event was presided over by BJP leader L.K. Advani, who commended Ms. Hasina for forging relations with India as a neighbour that “all leaders in the region” should follow as an example. Mr. Advani said he had known Ms. Hasina for several decades.
Horror of 1975
Ms. Hasina also recounted her time in India after the assassination of her father and her entire family when she was abroad with her sister in 1975.
“When we were homeless and countryless, Indian PM Indira Gandhi said we could live here. Everyone was very welcoming to us,” Ms. Hasina said, disclosing that she had been allotted a home very near Mr. Advani’s in Delhi’s Pandara Park.
