Mamata stands ground, opts out of Bangladesh trip with PM

New Delhi, Sept 5: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is not happy and is not hiding her displeasure when she opted out of the official trip with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh. Sources claim that she was not happy with the draft of the Teesta water sharing agreement with Bangladesh. They were scheduled to visit the neighbouring Bangladesh on Sept 6-7.

There are reports suggesting that Mamata was not happy with the Centres' decision to provide additional water which she believed is against the interest of her state. Agitations are already underway in certain parts of West Bengal including West Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. The fact that Mamata was not kept in the loop ahead of the drafting of the agreement has also irked the West Bengal CM.

India is believed to have agreed to share as much as 50 per cent of water reserves with Bangladesh. Sources have claimed that the Trinamool Congress was earlier promised that only 25 per cent of water from the dam over the Teesta to Bangladesh would be provided.

The draft would mean that the rain-starved areas of West Bengal would be parched to keep up with the obligation to Bangladesh. The matter had come up in the CCPA meeting and another meeting to sort out the issue was held between Mamata Banerjee and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon.

Mamata argued that the new draft would lead to drastic affects on five North Bengal districts that were heavily dependent on the river water.

With Mamata's dissent out in the public, the UPA is all set to face tough times ahead with the key ally Trinamool Congress caught between having to discharge its duties of coalition politics and fulfilling its demands to the people of West Bengal.

OneIndia News