India helped maintain political stability in Bangladesh, Hasina's minister told how

A Bangladesh minister believes that India has helped maintain political stability in his country. Bangladesh's Information Minister Hassan Mahmood on Tuesday said that India has played an important role in ensuring regional stability. He said regional stability is essential to Bangladesh's prosperity and political stability and the relationship between the two sides is not just about sharing the waters of the Teesta River. Mahmood's remarks made during his interaction with journalists at the Press Club of India are very important.

Bangladesh's general elections are not far away. Elections are expected to be held by December 2023. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party is eyeing an unprecedented fourth term. Mahmud, one of the senior-most ministers in Hasina's government and a top leader of the Awami League, praised India's role in his country's liberation struggle in 1971. He added that Bangladesh's progress "would never be possible without India's political and full support." ,

He said, "Political stability in a country is one of the most essential pre-conditions for prosperity. I firmly believe that regional stability is also important for maintaining political stability in Bangladesh. I give my thanks [for India] India has played a role in maintaining regional stability and thus political stability in Bangladesh.

On the issue of sharing of Teesta river waters across the border, Mahmood said that India-Bangladesh relations do not depend only on the Teesta water sharing agreement between the two countries. He said, “The relations between India and Bangladesh are very diverse, it does not depend only on the Teesta water-sharing. We share many things." He said Bangladesh and India are engaged in resolving the issue and progress has been made, although there are "certain obligations and procedures under the Constitution of India".

Significantly, the Teesta river water-sharing agreement has been in limbo for more than a decade due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. India and Bangladesh had agreed to an agreement on Teesta water sharing during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka in 2011, but Banerjee refused to accept it, citing water scarcity in the state.

"I hope that after following all the procedures, [the issue] will be resolved in the future," the Bangladesh minister said. An agreement on Teesta water sharing was to be signed in 2011 but was postponed due to protests from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Under the Constitution of India, agreements on the sharing of cross-border river waters require the consent of state governments.

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