A milestone in Indo-Bangla ties

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday termed the passage of Land Boundary Agreement bill by Indian parliament a new milestone in the long-standing relationship between the two countries.

“Through the passage of the bill, the commitment of two great leaders of the region as well as the world -- Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Shrimati Indira Gandhi -- has been materialised,” she said.

Hasina said this in her immediate reaction after India's Lok Sabha passed the constitution amendment bill to implement the historic agreement with Bangladesh, PM's Press Secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury told The Daily Star.

She extended her sincere greetings to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on her own behalf, the government and the people of Bangladesh for the passage of the historic bill in the Lok Sabha.

“India has been a trusted friend of Bangladesh. India always stood beside Bangladesh during its bad times and is still with its neighbour,” Hasina said.

She also extended her sincere congratulation to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Opposition Leader Sonia Gandhi, Indian government, members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as the people and administration of India for the passage of the bill.

Hasina, also chief of the ruling Awami League, hoped that the friendly relations between the two countries would be strengthened day by day.

The PM congratulated the enclave people from both sides, saying that their longstanding dreams had come true.

She also directed the law enforcement agencies to ensure security and welfare of the enclave people.

UNB adds: Earlier at a meeting with senior officials of the home ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat, Hasina described the passing of LBA by India's Rajya Sabha a huge diplomatic success for Bangladesh.

She also thanked all those involved in the process.

“The much-awaited LBA Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha unanimously on Wednesday. I think it's a huge diplomatic success for us,” she said.

Highlighting the background for initiative for the passage of the bill, Hasina said no step was taken about the issue until Bangladesh's independence since partition of Bengal.

It was Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who first took the initiative after the independence to settle the long-pending boundary dispute between the two countries, she said.

But after Bangabandhu's assassination, the process was stalled and no subsequent governments took any measures to that end, the PM told the meeting.

“The post-75 governments did not take any initiative for resolving any pending issues with India whether it was LBA or maritime boundary dispute,” she said.

The PM also said those governments only scolded the Awami League government accusing it of “selling off the country”.

“But in fact they did not take any initiative for protecting the hard-earned independence and sovereignty of the nation,” Hasina said.

She also said the Awami League government, after taking office in 1996, had taken steps to resolve the pending issues with India and other neighbouring countries.

“But the process got stalled again when the BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power in 2001 as they didn't say anything about maritime and land boundaries,” she said.