BanglaBhoot
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New Delhi, Feb 2: With the Indian Government not being able to push through a constitutional amendment on the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the lower house of its Parliament in December last year, it is now looking more towards the BJP to bail it out on the land swap deal that India signed with Bangladesh in September last year. According to the Indian Constitution, any alteration of territory and boundaries requires a constitutional amendment. With the Congress lacking numbers in Parliament it is dependent on the opposition parties to lend it support to push through important legislation.
An emboldened BJP, which after seeing a red-faced government in the last session is all geared to flex its muscles and make it tough for the government to push through an agreement which it had opposed at the very outset.
Recently, Indias National Security Adviser, Shivshankar Menon met leaders of the opposition of both Houses of Parliament to muster support.
Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley are leaders of the Opposition in the lower and upper houses of Parliament respectively. Both belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Indias national opposition party. It has strong views on the issue and has decried the land swap deal signed by the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh last year.
In a hard hitting interview given exclusively to The Independent, BJPs deputy leader in Indian Parliaments Upper House S.S.Ahluwalia spelt out the partys stance and also lashed out at the unresolved issue of illegal migrants linking it to terrorism. Apart from being part of some of the meetings NSA has had with BJP, Ahluwalia led a BJP delegation to the affected border districts in Assam and West Bengal.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. What are the BJPs objections to the deal?
A. When this pact was signed in September they had signed exchanges of enclaves. They signed without taking the people or the Parliament into confidence. This is wrong and unfortunate. Bangladesh is rigid and the Indian government is hell bent on an all-out surrender. The issue has been lingering since 1974. I fail to understand the governments compulsions in raking this up now?
Q. You led a BJP delegation to the border areas. What is the ground feel?
A. Anger sheer anger and outrage. The people are agitated on grounds that fertile land is being exchanged for barren land. Worse still you are transferring villages with Hindu population. How can you do this? What is the logic?
Q. What, Mr Ahluwalia, according to you is the logic?
A. I have no idea. I fail to understand what are the governments compulsions or considerations. Before Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Bangladesh visit, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon met some of us to discuss the matter. Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley categorically told them that without taking the local people into confidence dont swap land. We also said that Parliament must be taken into confidence. But they went ahead.
Q. By that measure is BJP the stumbling block in Indo-Bangladesh relations?
A. Till today the government has not disclosed the maps; people do not know anything. The people must know what is going on. So far nothing, except some survey map numbers, is in the public domain. They ignored us and inked the deal. But now they need our help and, therefore Menon met leaders of the Opposition. To make the deal effective, the Indian Constitution needs to be amended and Menon is trying to mobilize support for that. This is an afterthought because the pact has been signed but now they need us.
Q. What transpired in the meeting?
A. We said that the government should come clean and place the facts before us. We told them that they have signed a piece of paper but it has no validity. For that the Indian Constitution needs to be amended. So as of now the deal is just a piece of paper.
Q. Will the BJP cooperate?
A. Only if and after the government convinces us that the deal is in national interest
Q. So as of now is it stuck?
A. Yes it is stuck. If the government wants our support they have to abide by our request. They are in a bind because after the constitutional amendment on the Lokpal Bill fell in Parliament, the government cannot afford a repeat. We, on our part, are clear that we will not allow national interest to be compromised.
Q. And you think the Government is doing just that?
A. Of course, because if you are signing something without taking the Parliament into confidence you are performing an unconstitutional act. They are changing boundaries without amending the Constitution. More than 1149 maps were exchanged but they were not discussed with either the people of that area or Parliament. Unless they come clean with the facts, BJP will not go along. They have to tell us what they have done. BJP is not going to do anything which is detrimental to the nation.
Q. If the government agrees to share information
A. Not merely share but also convince us. The NSA has said that he will revert on this; so we are waiting and watching.
Q. What is BJPs definition of national interest?
A. Love and affection for the motherland cannot be judged by a scale. There is no minimum or maximum to it. It is uniform.
Q. By that measure land swap seems impossible
A. We want to see what we got and what we lost As of now we do not know anything there is a black screen on information. No one knows what happened. I dont know why the government is raking up the issue given that this goes back to the Indira Gandhi-Mujib pact signed in 1974. Successive governments have let the issue remain dormant. Why has Dr Manmohan Singh brought it up? It puzzles me. As I said there is a black and blank screen.
Q. The BJP is seen as anti-Muslim
A. We are not anti-Muslim. This is false propaganda and a prejudice. Else how do you explain Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain [both BJP MPs] getting elected to Parliament?
Q. They are BJPs only poster boys
A. Not at all, Unlike Zakir Hussain who was called the Congress show boy, Naqvi and other Muslims in BJP are not our show boys. Many started their career with us.
Deal on enclave exchange only a piece of paper: BJP
An emboldened BJP, which after seeing a red-faced government in the last session is all geared to flex its muscles and make it tough for the government to push through an agreement which it had opposed at the very outset.
Recently, Indias National Security Adviser, Shivshankar Menon met leaders of the opposition of both Houses of Parliament to muster support.
Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley are leaders of the Opposition in the lower and upper houses of Parliament respectively. Both belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Indias national opposition party. It has strong views on the issue and has decried the land swap deal signed by the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh last year.
In a hard hitting interview given exclusively to The Independent, BJPs deputy leader in Indian Parliaments Upper House S.S.Ahluwalia spelt out the partys stance and also lashed out at the unresolved issue of illegal migrants linking it to terrorism. Apart from being part of some of the meetings NSA has had with BJP, Ahluwalia led a BJP delegation to the affected border districts in Assam and West Bengal.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. What are the BJPs objections to the deal?
A. When this pact was signed in September they had signed exchanges of enclaves. They signed without taking the people or the Parliament into confidence. This is wrong and unfortunate. Bangladesh is rigid and the Indian government is hell bent on an all-out surrender. The issue has been lingering since 1974. I fail to understand the governments compulsions in raking this up now?
Q. You led a BJP delegation to the border areas. What is the ground feel?
A. Anger sheer anger and outrage. The people are agitated on grounds that fertile land is being exchanged for barren land. Worse still you are transferring villages with Hindu population. How can you do this? What is the logic?
Q. What, Mr Ahluwalia, according to you is the logic?
A. I have no idea. I fail to understand what are the governments compulsions or considerations. Before Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Bangladesh visit, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon met some of us to discuss the matter. Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley categorically told them that without taking the local people into confidence dont swap land. We also said that Parliament must be taken into confidence. But they went ahead.
Q. By that measure is BJP the stumbling block in Indo-Bangladesh relations?
A. Till today the government has not disclosed the maps; people do not know anything. The people must know what is going on. So far nothing, except some survey map numbers, is in the public domain. They ignored us and inked the deal. But now they need our help and, therefore Menon met leaders of the Opposition. To make the deal effective, the Indian Constitution needs to be amended and Menon is trying to mobilize support for that. This is an afterthought because the pact has been signed but now they need us.
Q. What transpired in the meeting?
A. We said that the government should come clean and place the facts before us. We told them that they have signed a piece of paper but it has no validity. For that the Indian Constitution needs to be amended. So as of now the deal is just a piece of paper.
Q. Will the BJP cooperate?
A. Only if and after the government convinces us that the deal is in national interest
Q. So as of now is it stuck?
A. Yes it is stuck. If the government wants our support they have to abide by our request. They are in a bind because after the constitutional amendment on the Lokpal Bill fell in Parliament, the government cannot afford a repeat. We, on our part, are clear that we will not allow national interest to be compromised.
Q. And you think the Government is doing just that?
A. Of course, because if you are signing something without taking the Parliament into confidence you are performing an unconstitutional act. They are changing boundaries without amending the Constitution. More than 1149 maps were exchanged but they were not discussed with either the people of that area or Parliament. Unless they come clean with the facts, BJP will not go along. They have to tell us what they have done. BJP is not going to do anything which is detrimental to the nation.
Q. If the government agrees to share information
A. Not merely share but also convince us. The NSA has said that he will revert on this; so we are waiting and watching.
Q. What is BJPs definition of national interest?
A. Love and affection for the motherland cannot be judged by a scale. There is no minimum or maximum to it. It is uniform.
Q. By that measure land swap seems impossible
A. We want to see what we got and what we lost As of now we do not know anything there is a black screen on information. No one knows what happened. I dont know why the government is raking up the issue given that this goes back to the Indira Gandhi-Mujib pact signed in 1974. Successive governments have let the issue remain dormant. Why has Dr Manmohan Singh brought it up? It puzzles me. As I said there is a black and blank screen.
Q. The BJP is seen as anti-Muslim
A. We are not anti-Muslim. This is false propaganda and a prejudice. Else how do you explain Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain [both BJP MPs] getting elected to Parliament?
Q. They are BJPs only poster boys
A. Not at all, Unlike Zakir Hussain who was called the Congress show boy, Naqvi and other Muslims in BJP are not our show boys. Many started their career with us.
Deal on enclave exchange only a piece of paper: BJP
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