Mamata miffed for not being invited to be part of Bangaldesh PM's India visit

Kolkata, Sep 08: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the Centre for not inviting her to be a part of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ongoing visit to India.

Banerjee also said she was curious over why the BJP-led central government was "worried" about her meeting Hasina.

''I share an excellent relationship with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, but (the Centre) did not invite me to be a part of her visit,'' she said while addressing a special session of the Trinamool Congress.

''I don't want to talk about external affairs or bilateral ties. But, I have noticed that the Centre tries to stop me whenever I am invited to any foreign country. I want to know why is the Union government so worried about me meeting foreign dignitaries,'' Banerjee said.

Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a four-day tour to expand overall ties between the two countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India and Bangladesh have decided to extend cooperation in various sectors including IT, space and nuclear energy, which are of interest to the younger generation.

Addressing a joint press briefing with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, Modi said Bangladesh is India's biggest development and trade partner in the region, adding there is a continuous improvement in people-to-people cooperation.

Modi also announced that the two countries have signed an important agreement regarding the water-sharing of the Kushiyara River. The PM further said cooperation between India and Bangladesh has increased in the last few years, and he and Hasina had a discussion on various bilateral, regional and international issues.

Hasina, meanwhile, congratulated India on the successful completion of the Modi government's "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav".

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India and Bangladesh should jointly face terrorist and fundamentalist forces that threaten to attack mutual trust between the two countries.

Modi made these remarks after bilateral talks with visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who made a strong pitch for early conclusion of the Teesta water sharing agreement.

India and Bangladesh signed seven agreements after the talks between Modi and Hasina, including one on sharing of waters of Kushiyara river which is expected to benefit the regions of southern Assam and Bangladesh's Sylhet region.

Modi noted that 54 rivers pass through the borders of India and Bangladesh and are linked to the livelihoods of the people of both the countries for centuries.