Under fire for her poor track record in governance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is now attempting to refashion her image. Known for her mercurial temperament and often seen as an obstructionist, Banerjee is going all out to cast herself as a statesman. And the place she has picked for this image makeover is the neighbouring Bangladesh.
Banerjee will be in Dhaka from February 19 to 21 at the invitation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ostensibly to celebrate “Bhasha Diwas” (Language Day). But the real purpose of her first trip to Dhaka after taking over as chief minister in 2011 is to build bridges with Sheikh Hasina, iron out their differences and, in the process, send out a message to her electorate back home that she is more than just a street fighter.
Relations between Banerjee and Sheikh Hasina had come under strain after the West Bengal chief minister refused to join Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s delegation on his visit to Dhaka in 2011 because of her reservations about the Land Boundary Agreement and a treaty on sharing of Teesta river waters. These pacts were to be signed by the two countries during the trip. Consequently, what was touted as a landmark visit turned out to a diplomatic disaster.
While Manmohan Singh was left red-faced, a bitter Sheikh Hasina had then openly blamed Banerjee for vetoing these agreements. Her anger was understandable. The Bangladesh prime minister had gone out of her way to accommodate India’s concerns during the discussions on the agreements, even though she had come in for strong attack from her political opponents who accused her of kowtowing to Delhi.
Banerjee’s own image also suffered but she steadfastly opposed the agreements and did not allow the United Progressive Alliance government to ratify the Land Boundary Agreement in Parliament.
Pressure at home
Four years later, Banerjee is going in for a course correction. She has dropped her strident opposition to the boundary agreement and is open for a discussion on the treaty on sharing of Teesta river waters.
Domestic pressures are clearly pushing Banerjee to change her stance. She has been under pressure as a determined Bharatiya Janata Party is making deep inroads into her home state. The ongoing investigations into the Saradha chit fund scam have cast a long shadow over the Trinamool Congress whose leaders are gradually switching loyalties to the BJP, which is fast replacing the Left parties as the main opposition force in West Bengal.
Furthermore, Banerjee has been under siege after the bomb blasts in Burdwan which reinforced the public perception that West Bengal territory was being used as a safe haven by the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. Banerjee’s government faced flak for not taking sufficient steps to crack down on these radical elements from across the border. Worse, her party members were even accused of protecting them.
Faced with increasing pressure at home, Banerjee has decided to embark on a foreign trip to win over her lost domestic constituency. “She basically wants to change the narrative in West Bengal,” remarked a political observer.
Step by step
It was Banerjee who reached out to Sheikh Hasina when she first invited her to West Bengal for a special programme to mark the setting up of a chair in her father’s name Bangabandhu Mujib-ur-Rehman at Calcutta University. The West Bengal chief minister then followed it up with a meeting with a delegation of Bangladesh MPs last November where she conveyed her government’s decision to drop its opposition to the land boundary agreement.
Subsequently, feelers were sent to Sheikh Hasina’s government that Banerjee would like to visit Dhaka. The chief minister personally told Bangladesh President Mohammad Abdul Hamid about her desire to visit his country when she met him at a banquet hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee last year.
On its part, the Bangladesh was quick to respond to these overtures. It believes this is an opportune time to reset relations between Sheikh Hasina and Banerjee and sort out the differences over the land boundary agreement and the Teesta river sharing treaty, as a result of which relations between the two countries had come under strain.
And this time, Banerjee is keen to prove that she is no spoiler.
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Banerjee will be in Dhaka from February 19 to 21 at the invitation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ostensibly to celebrate “Bhasha Diwas” (Language Day). But the real purpose of her first trip to Dhaka after taking over as chief minister in 2011 is to build bridges with Sheikh Hasina, iron out their differences and, in the process, send out a message to her electorate back home that she is more than just a street fighter.
Relations between Banerjee and Sheikh Hasina had come under strain after the West Bengal chief minister refused to join Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s delegation on his visit to Dhaka in 2011 because of her reservations about the Land Boundary Agreement and a treaty on sharing of Teesta river waters. These pacts were to be signed by the two countries during the trip. Consequently, what was touted as a landmark visit turned out to a diplomatic disaster.
While Manmohan Singh was left red-faced, a bitter Sheikh Hasina had then openly blamed Banerjee for vetoing these agreements. Her anger was understandable. The Bangladesh prime minister had gone out of her way to accommodate India’s concerns during the discussions on the agreements, even though she had come in for strong attack from her political opponents who accused her of kowtowing to Delhi.
Banerjee’s own image also suffered but she steadfastly opposed the agreements and did not allow the United Progressive Alliance government to ratify the Land Boundary Agreement in Parliament.
Pressure at home
Four years later, Banerjee is going in for a course correction. She has dropped her strident opposition to the boundary agreement and is open for a discussion on the treaty on sharing of Teesta river waters.
Domestic pressures are clearly pushing Banerjee to change her stance. She has been under pressure as a determined Bharatiya Janata Party is making deep inroads into her home state. The ongoing investigations into the Saradha chit fund scam have cast a long shadow over the Trinamool Congress whose leaders are gradually switching loyalties to the BJP, which is fast replacing the Left parties as the main opposition force in West Bengal.
Furthermore, Banerjee has been under siege after the bomb blasts in Burdwan which reinforced the public perception that West Bengal territory was being used as a safe haven by the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. Banerjee’s government faced flak for not taking sufficient steps to crack down on these radical elements from across the border. Worse, her party members were even accused of protecting them.
Faced with increasing pressure at home, Banerjee has decided to embark on a foreign trip to win over her lost domestic constituency. “She basically wants to change the narrative in West Bengal,” remarked a political observer.
Step by step
It was Banerjee who reached out to Sheikh Hasina when she first invited her to West Bengal for a special programme to mark the setting up of a chair in her father’s name Bangabandhu Mujib-ur-Rehman at Calcutta University. The West Bengal chief minister then followed it up with a meeting with a delegation of Bangladesh MPs last November where she conveyed her government’s decision to drop its opposition to the land boundary agreement.
Subsequently, feelers were sent to Sheikh Hasina’s government that Banerjee would like to visit Dhaka. The chief minister personally told Bangladesh President Mohammad Abdul Hamid about her desire to visit his country when she met him at a banquet hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee last year.
On its part, the Bangladesh was quick to respond to these overtures. It believes this is an opportune time to reset relations between Sheikh Hasina and Banerjee and sort out the differences over the land boundary agreement and the Teesta river sharing treaty, as a result of which relations between the two countries had come under strain.
And this time, Banerjee is keen to prove that she is no spoiler.
