India to seek ratification of land deal

The constitution amendment bill to ratify the India-Bangladesh land boundary agreement (LBA) is due to be introduced in the upper house of Indian parliament next week, the final lap of its ongoing monsoon session.
Government sources said the introduction of the proposed bill in Rajya Sabha would prevent it from lapsing under Indian law.
However, there are doubts if the bill could be passed in the current session of parliament because only about 10-11 working days are left for the House to deal with a host of other bills.
The monsoon session began on August 5 and ends on August 30.
The top leadership in Bharatiya Janata Party already made it clear to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a meeting here last week that it would not support the LBA in its current form, as India stands to lose more land than Bangladesh while exchanging sovereignty over 161 enclaves.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley is reported to have told a group of reporters yesterday that the government was free to go ahead with the bill. He said the BJP cannot support the bill as the party's units in West Bengal and Assam states are vehemently opposed to it.
The Indian constitution needs to be amended because the LBA envisages an exchange of territory.
Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad has already cleared the agreement for which an additional protocol was signed by the two countries during Singh's visit to Dhaka in September 2011.
Even if the bill is introduced, it remains to be seen whether a discussion on it takes place and whether BJP and Asom Gono Parishad (AGP), a key political outfit in Assam state, take part to express their concerns over the proposed law.
It also remains to be seen if BJP and AGP move amendments to the bill or if the two parties walk out of the House. In the event of a walkout, the bill can be passed by two-thirds of the lawmakers present in the Rajya Sabha.