Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina
Indian daily The Hindu on Thursday reported West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s political fight against Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation drive has cast a shadow on the upcoming visit of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India.
Bangladesh official sources told The Hindu on Wednesday that the visit was unlikely to witness any progress on the Teesta water-sharing issue because of the political differences between Banerjee and Modi, said the report.
“We are not hopeful of any progress on the Teesta issue as there are serious political issues between the chief minister of West Bengal and the Union government. In the current circumstances, we don’t expect any positive development…,” a diplomatic source was quoted to have said.
The Hindu report said the diplomatic source indicated that the focus of the visit was likely to be on greater defence and maritime cooperation, and not on river-water sharing.
Banerjee has been at the forefront of the protest against demonetisation and has been touring various cities to highlight the inconveniences caused by the drive, read the Hindu report.
However, it said, Hasina did make it clear that her government remained focussed on ensuring water security for Bangladesh.
Sources indicated that despite the problems between Kolkata and New Delhi, the Teesta issue would feature in the talks.
Source: Prothom Alo
