Hours before West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for Bangladesh on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called her on the phone and wished her well.
Speaking to journalists in the West Bengal Assembly, Ms. Banerjee described her first visit to Bangladesh as the Chief Minister as “historic.” She would hold meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid.
Though she remained tight lipped about the proposed Teesta river water-sharing treaty between the two countries, she said she was hopeful of a solution to the Land Boundary Agreement related to the settlement of enclaves. “I will not say anything about Teesta here… All I can say about the exchange of enclaves is that talks are at a positive stage,” Ms Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister, who had backed out of a visit to Bangladesh with former Prime Minster Manmohan Singh in September 2011, has recently changed her stand on the exchange of enclaves. She wants the issue to be settled and has told the Union government about her views.
During the day, she unveiled a replica of the monument erected in Bangladesh to commemorate the sacrifice of youths for their mother tongue, Bangla. The day is observed as Bhasa Divas’ (language day) on February 21 every year. Ms. Banerjee will participate in the function to mark the day in Bangladesh.
“The visit to Bangladesh will offer an unprecedented opportunity to express solidarity with the people of Bangladesh, pay homage to the great martyrs who laid down their lives for the mother tongue, and strengthen the historic ties between the two nations,” she said on a social networking site.
She said 773 Bangladeshi nationals were released from prisons in the State in 2011 and about 1,826 in 2012. “Similarly 3,127 persons were released in 2013 and 2,424 persons in 2014,” the Chief Minister said.
This year, about 267 persons had been released so far, of whom 111 were fishermen and were released by the Border Security Force on Thursday.