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Derek O’Brien, the Trinamool Congress’s parliamentary leader in the Rajya Sabha. | Photo credit: The Hindu
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress party on Sunday criticised the Indian central government for not consulting the state government before deciding to negotiate with Bangladesh on the renewal of the 1996 Ganges water-sharing treaty.
The Trinamool Congress’ criticism came a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on a range of issues, including the treaty.
Derek O’Brien, leader of the Indian Grassroots Alliance’s parliamentary party, said India was a party to the treaty but had not been consulted.
He said the renewal of the Farakka-Ganga treaty was not negotiated with West Bengal. “The state is a party to the treaty. Even our arrears from the previous treaty have not been settled,” Mr O’Brien told reporters here. “Dredging of the Ganga has been stopped. It is the main cause of floods and soil erosion. This is a plan to sell out Bengal,” he charged.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that India and Bangladesh will hold technical-level talks on renewal of the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty and an Indian technical team will soon visit Bangladesh to discuss protection and management of the Teesta river.
Joint Technical Team
Modi held delegation-level talks with Hasina during her visit to New Delhi, after which an India-Bangladesh Shared Vision document was released, which said both sides welcomed the establishment of a joint technical committee to initiate discussions on renewing the 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty.
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