On the other hand the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been identified as ‘key’ to resolving the issue has again refused to approve any such deal. Mamata Banerjee had earlier assured Bangladesh during her visit to Dhaka in February 2015 that people of Bangladesh should “keep faith in her to resolve the long standing Teesta issue.” Exchanging views with people she also used powerful words like– “Please keep faith in me”, “Don’t’ worry about it.”
But this time she has told Bangladesh Prime Minister that there is no water in Teesta to share. However Bangladesh may consider using the waters of rivers like Torsa, Dharala, Jaldhaka, Dhansiri and Mansiri – all within India. “If necessary, the two sides can conduct a joint survey on the availability of water in the five rivers, she said making the issue further difficult. Hence in spite of the two Prime Ministers’ high hopes for the future, all efforts appear hanging in uncertainty.
Mamata has been consistently opposing the Teesta water sharing. She made her decisions public for the first time in September 2011, when the then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came in a state visit to Bangladesh. Mamata not only opposed the Treaty but even refused to come to Dhaka with Manmohan Singh. She blamed the central government for deceiving West Bengal with misleading water share and claimed since the Teesta was the ‘life-line’ for West Bengal’s agriculture, her government would not support or approve any water sharing agreement.
Mamata has been maintaining that stand since then and we are not sure whether Modi’s hope for Bangladesh that the Teesta issue would be resolved in the lifetime of Hasina government will come true. With his hope nothing has changed. Not only that on the eve of Sheikh Hasina’s Delhi visit Mamata in a media interview has repeated her ‘no’ to the deal. She said if the Modi government try to sign any deal without her consent she would convene the Bidhan Sabha’s (State Parliament’s) special session to reject and nullify that. Ultimately Mamata has won and the Teesta water sharing files have again gone back to the shelves!
It is true, there are widespread speculations in the country’s political circles that this entire stance has been an Indian ‘game’ and Mamata is just playing her prescribed role. But we do not want to tell that. Rather we think the fact must be considered from the point of Bangladesh’s national interest. While as the Chief Minister of an Indian state government, Mamata has succeeded to compel the successive Indian central governments to refrain from signing the Teesta agreement, but Sheikh Hasina, as the Prime Minister of a sovereign country has failed to impress the Indian leaders to fulfill their pledge.
Water sharing of Teesta is the test of friendship with Bangladesh.
