The Trinamool Congress has started expressing its anger against the Center after the news of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Delhi with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to renew the Ganga water sharing agreement came to light. Complaints have been raised by the ruling party of West Bengal, the central government has taken this step avoiding the state government.
In 1996, the Ganga-Farakka Water Sharing Agreement was signed between India and Bangladesh, in which several state governments, including West Bengal, were parties. This agreement is going to expire in 2026. Recently, talks are being held at the technical level regarding the renewal of this water sharing agreement with Bangladesh. But no one from West Bengal was kept there or it was not discussed with them.
The Center should have discussed with the Trinamool demands and the renewal of the Ganga water sharing agreement with the states earlier. Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said in a press conference on Sunday, “The state is a party to this agreement. But there was no discussion with the state in this regard. This is unacceptable.”
At the same time, allegations of ‘deprivation’ have also been raised against the Centre. The Trinamool has alleged that the Center has not yet settled the money owed to the state government regarding the Ganga water sharing agreement. The dredging of the Ganges has stopped, leading to erosion and flooding. Even if the center informed about this, there was no benefit. However, BJP’s counter claim is that this opposition of Trinamool is not reasonable.
BJP’s Shamik Bhattacharya said, “The issue depends on the foreign policies of the two countries. It cannot be the work of any responsible political party to openly oppose India’s policy on this issue.” Sheikh Hasina’s meeting with Narendra Modi in Delhi on Saturday discussed several issues including rail transit and Teesta conservation. The formation of a technical committee was also discussed in connection with the renewal of the Ganga water sharing agreement. The two countries signed a total of ten MoUs in the bilateral meeting on Saturday.
Why is the Trinamool opposed?
Within 24 hours of the announcement of talks on renewing the Ganga water sharing agreement with Bangladesh, the Trinamool criticized the Center in strong terms. Trinamool claims that this move of the Center is against the federal structure. Trinamool MP Sudeep Banerjee told reporters, “Agreement with Bangladesh excluding Bangladesh is very sad. We love Bangladesh but not at the expense of Bengal’s interests. What is a one-sided agreement?”
Referring to that letter, Trinamool informed that two years ago, the Chief Minister had said that a large area of Bengal is facing erosion because of the Farakka Barrage. Floods are also occurring. As a result of which people are losing their homes and land, the agricultural land is affected extensively and the cultivation is also damaged. Government property is not excluded. In 2015, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the then Minister of Water Resources and Rivers Uma Bharti about the state’s problems. Also after the Ganga water sharing agreement
