Teesta deal not this time, but it'll happen soon: Quader

Agreements will be signed with India upholding the national interests and sovereignty of the country, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said yesterday.

“Whether it is a military or civil deal, it will be done for the interests of Bangladesh. There will be no treaty beyond this,” he told a programme of Krishak League at Mahanagar Natya Mancha in the capital.     

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said they wanted equality-based relations with India.

Asked what may happen to the Teesta water sharing deal during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India visit next month, he said this treaty would not be signed this time but the signing would happen a few days later.

“The person who signed the Ganges treaty will sign the Teesta treaty,” he said referring to Sheikh Hasina in this regard.

“The Teesta agreement is a matter of time. This treaty will be signed in time. All processes are about to be completed to this end,” he mentioned.

Referring to the intra-party feuding, which resulted in debacles in the recent bar association elections in Supreme Court and Dhaka judge's court, he said the party was affected when people went for personal gains.

At a programme in Narayanganj, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) might be signed with India, not a deal, to buy arms from that country.

About the Teesta treaty, he said the PM was sincere about it, and the treaty would happen within a year.