Mr Modi has been enabled to overcome the taboo maintained by his party on account of the majority he has won in Parliament
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exhibited farsightedness in giving the go-ahead to the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, which was signed in 2011 by then PM Manmohan Singh in Dhaka but could not be brought into effect on account of the truculence of the BJP sitting in Opposition in Parliament.
Playing the supposedly nationalistic card, the saffron party had argued that the swapping of land enclaves in adverse possession on both sides would amount to Indian states bordering Bangladesh losing land in the exchange which was needed to align the boundary between the two countries. In fact, this has been BJP’s traditional argument, its underlying message being that Indian territory would be lost to a Muslim country.
Mr Modi’s commitment to the RSS, his parent body, is by no means diminished when he gives up on this bogey. Doing so just demonstrates that he can be practical when needed. Indeed, while speaking in Guwahati on Sunday where he registered the change in course, the PM used the BJP’s oft-made “nationalist” argument about infiltration from Bangladesh, saying this will cease if the boundary agreement was implemented. This was, in fact, clever of him even if it leaves behind red faces in the BJP and RSS ranks.
Clearly, Mr Modi has been enabled to overcome the taboo on account of the majority he has won in Parliament. Mr Modi now saying yes seeks to underline that the BJP’s past argument was ill-founded and political in nature. What had remained of the agreement after signature three years ago was ratification. This should now go through without a hitch. The Congress benches are not expected to place a hurdle as this was a pact they had signed with Dhaka. Besides, Assam, the state that the BJP said would really suffer in the land exchange, is Congress-ruled. There should be no opposition there either. The only theoretical enclaves of opposition one might conceivably think of reside in the BJP.
After sorting out the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh, the PM should look to settling the river waters issue with our eastern neighbour. That would go a long way in securing an endorsement in Dhaka for deepening ties with New Delhi. When the UPA was in office, Prime Minister Singh had almost clinched this deal but West Bengal CM Mamata played spoilsport. Her influence has waned and it may now be possible to get her to drop her reservations. If all is well, India can do so much together with Bangladesh on the economic front and influence the political landscape to checkmate the challenge of terrorism.
