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Teesta deal not to be signed during PM's Bangladesh visit : Swaraj

by IBNS 31 May 2015, 07:33 pm

New Delhi, June 1 (IBNS) The long-pending Teesta water-sharing pact with Bangladesh will not be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's June 6-7 visit to that country, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Swaraj said  views of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is accompanying PM Modi to Bangladesh, will be taken before making a final decision on the pact.

"We have not reached a position for signing of the Teesta pact. Any understanding between governments of India and Bangladesh will not be enough as no decision is possible without consulting the state" she said.

The teesta issue remained a tangle in the India-Bangladesh relationship. Former former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came close to signing it with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina Wajed in 2011, but the move was postponed at the last minute due to objections by Banerjee. The West Bengal Chief Minister herself was to accompany Singh to Bangladesh, but dropped out of the delegation.

Replying a question whether  there was any possibility of  Banerjee dropping out at the last minute this time too,  Swaraj said "This time there is no such possibility. Mamata Banerjee is definitely going there."

Describing as important the issue of water-sharing, Swaraj said both countries will have to talk about 54 rivers along with Teesta.

She said the issue of deportation of ULFA leader Anup Chetia, lodged in a Dhaka jail for 17 years, is likely to be discussed during the talks.