‘Not happy with Centre for excluding Bengal from Teesta talks with B’desh’

Kolkata: On Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fervently expressing her dissatisfaction over two pressing matters, the Teesta water sharing with Bangladesh and the NEET paper scandal.

In her letter concerning the Teesta water sharing and the Farakka Treaty, she voiced “strong reservations” about the Centre’s exclusion of the state government from crucial discussions with Bangladesh, highlighting her discontent with the lack of state involvement in these significant negotiations.

Additionally, in the wake of the recent paper leak scandal, Banerjee implored PM Modi to contemplate the abolition of NEET, advocating a return to the previous system where individual states conducted their own examinations, emphasising the need for greater integrity and local control in the process.

Calling the discussions over Teesta water sharing “unilateral” and “unacceptable”, Banerjee raised her objections to the water sharing talks between the two PMs after Bengal was excluded from the negotiations.

The letter, which was shot off in the wake of Modi’s recent bilateral talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina in Delhi, followed Banerjee’s reported displeasure expressed in close circles after details of the meet between the two heads of state were reported in national media.

“I am writing this letter in context of the recent visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. It seems that water sharing issues relating to the Ganges and Teesta rivers may have been discussed during the meeting. Such unilateral deliberations and discussions without consultation and the opinion of the state government is neither acceptable nor desirable,” she said in a three-page letter to Modi.

Banerjee has been opposing the water-sharing pact with Bangladesh accusing the Farakka barrage of erosion, siltation and floods in the state.

In the recently held bilateral meeting between PM Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, the two leaders discussed the conservation and management of the River Teesta and the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty.

According to the pact, India is set to build a large reservoir and related infrastructure to manage and conserve Teesta water.

“People of West Bengal will be the worst sufferers due to the impact of such agreements. I came to understand that the Government of India is in the process of renewing the Indo Bangladesh Farakka Treaty (1996) which is to expire in 2026. It is a Treaty which delineates the principles of sharing of water between Bangladesh and India and as you are aware it has huge implications for the people of West Bengal for maintaining their livelihood and that the water which is diverted at the Farakka Barrage helps in maintaining the navigability of the Kolkata port,” remarked Banerjee in her letter.

Banerjee also stated: “We do share a very close relationship with Bangladesh geographically, culturally and economically, I love and respect people of Bangladesh and always wish for their well-being. The state of West Bengal has cooperated with Bangladesh on several issues in the past,” she mentioned.

“Agreement on exchange of India-Bangladesh enclaves, also known as the Chitmahals, Indo-Bangladesh Railway Line and Bus Services are some of the milestones of jointly working together with Bangladesh for the betterment of the economy in this region,” she wrote.

“I would like to bring to your notice that river morphology has changed in the eastern part of India and Bangladesh over many years which has deprived West Bengal and negatively impacted the water availability in the state. There has been eastward migration of the Ganges (and Padma in Bangladesh) over the last 200 years disrupting their link with several rivers in West Bengal,” reads the letter.

Banerjee also alleged central deprivation over promised dredging funds, and the “unilateral reduction” of the Farakka Barrage Project Authority for implementing anti-erosion work in the region.

In her second letter to the PM, Banerjee called for strong action against those involved in the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam.

Banerjee said that what happened relating to NEET would not only compromise the quality of medical education in the country but adversely affect the quality of medical facilities/treatment in the country.

“The allegations of paper leak, taking bribes by certain people and the officials involved in the conduct of the Examinations, opening of windows to accommodate certain students to apply for examinations, grace marks etc. are some of the serious issues which need complete attention and require a thorough, clean and impartial probe. Such instances jeopardise the career and aspirations of lakhs and lakhs of students who look forward to get admission into these medical courses,” read her letter.

She further pointed out: “This is also to point out that before 2017, the States were allowed to conduct their own Entrance Examinations and the Central Government also used to conduct its own examinations for admission into the medical courses. This system was functioning smoothly and without much problems. This was better attuned to the regional curricula and educational standards. The state government usually spends more than Rs.50 lakh per doctor on education and internship.”

She also said it was completely unacceptable as the decentralized system was changed to a unitary and centralised system of examination (NEET) so as to take complete control of all the admissions in the country in the medical courses without any involvement of the state governments.