Teesta Deal: Indian govt rejects claim of Mamata
The Indian government yesterday rejected the claim of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that she was not being consulted on the Teesta water-sharing treaty with Bangladesh.
"I would not like to comment on the remarks of the [West Bengal] chief minister in the interview. At this stage, I can only make some remarks in general. As you have seen, the approach of the [federal] government is quite cooperative federalism," said Gopal Baglay, spokesman for the ministry of external affairs.
"The leadership of the government has been to put a lot of emphasis on cooperative federalism," he told the weekly media briefing in New Delhi in reply to a pointed question.
Baglay was asked to respond to Mamata's remarks made during an interview with ABP Ananda on Thursday night that it was heard that the Teesta treaty might be signed on May 25 "but she had not been consulted so far".
"I don't have any clue about the discussions. I cannot put a seal of approval on the treaty at the cost of my state's interests," Mamata was quoted as saying.
The spokesman also wanted to know if the Indian government was consulting all the state governments concerned in resolving the unresolved issues with Bangladesh and if they would be invited to the highest-level talks between India and Bangladesh during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to Delhi from April 7 to 10. The talks are scheduled for April 8.
Baglay said the federal Indian government's “approach had always been to consult and take on board stake-holders, including the state governments”, and added that the landmark Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh could not have been passed in parliament and then implemented without the cooperation of all the stakeholders.
He said, "Hasina's forthcoming visit to India is going to be really a very important visit and we hope it will further consolidate mutually beneficial ties with Bangladesh.”
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