Land, water to figure in PM visit
Land boundary agreement, Teesta water deal and fake currency issues will be discussed
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two- day visit to Bangladesh beginning June 6 with an aim to inject a new momentum in the bilateral relationship by enhancing cooperation. Mr Modi will hold wide- ranging talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, on the whole gamut of ties and ways to move forward. Mr Modi had earlier visited Nepal and Bhutan in the neighbourhood. Ties between India and Bangladesh have been on an upswing ever since the Hasina government came to power in January 2009. Earlier this month, Parliament had passed a historic constitution amendment bill seeking to settle India’s 41- yearold border issue with Bangladesh. The bill will operationalise the IndiaBangladesh Land Boundary Agreement that provides for exchange of 161 enclaves adversely held by the two countries.
Home ministry sources said the formalities on operationalising the agreement are already underway. The issue of citizenship for those in the enclaves handed over to India will be settled. Those living in Bangladeshi enclaves in India would be granted Indian citizenship under Section 7 of the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955 ( as applicable to populations residing in territories incorporated into India), they said. Moreover, Indian border guarding forces will now be able to secure the border effectively to be able to curb illegal migration.
Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday in Kolkata that India and Bangladesh would soon approve the long- pending Teesta river water- sharing agreement, according to news agency reports. The menace of fake Indian currency, which New Delhi believes is being pumped into India at the behest of ISI, will also be taken up.