Mamata claims enclave credit - Didi's U-turn with eye on border vote

Mamata Banerjee walks from her helicopter to the meeting venue at Cooch Behar's Dinhata 

TT, Dinhata (Cooch Behar), Dec. 4: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today tried wooing the enclave population on north Bengal's fringes and attempted to steal the BJP's thunder by claiming credit for the Centre's proposed Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, which she had initially opposed.

At a government programme in a remote belt adjoining enclaves in the Dinhata subdivision of the Cooch Behar, Mamata expressed hope for implementation of the agreement.

"We are working out a solution for border enclaves. I hope the problem will be solved promptly. I hope there will be a diplomatic agreement on the issue," said Mamata, who added that her government had been prodding the Centre for the resolution.

"We have been writing to the Centre. We will write again. We want a solution to the problem of enclaves soon," she added.

Mamata's apparent U-turn on the issue - it was on account of her resistance that the agreement could not be finalised during the UPA II government, despite several attempts by erstwhile Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - was calculated, said Trinamul sources.

"The agreement is an inevitability and she was only holding it up unnecessarily. So she realised that by claiming credit for the resolution to this problem she can enhance her support base in the region," said a leader from the district this evening.

According to him, Mamata had inputs indicating the willingness of most Bangladeshis living in the enclaves to stay on in India, which would make them voters and she could gain if she gives an impression that she has facilitated the process.

"As the BJP government at the Centre is finally being able to close this deal, the credit would have gone to them. But that is something she does not want to allow and so she is trying to claim the credit," he added.

According to government records, there are 51 Bangladeshi enclaves inside India and 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh.

A July 2011 census in the enclaves revealed 14,215 Bangladeshi residents living inside India and 37,369 Indians living in Bangladesh. The land area in question, according to government sources, is 7,110 acres in Bangladeshi enclaves and 17,158 acres in Indian enclaves.

Under the agreement, the enclaves would be swapped. That is, the 111 Indian enclaves would merge with Bangladesh mainland and vice-versa.

The residents would be allowed to choose if they want to become citizens of the country where their enclave is located or whether they want to return to their original country. If an Indian staying in a Bangladesh enclave decides to return to India, he would have to leave all immovable property he had acquired behind and resettle here.

The governments of both countries are responsible for resettling the enclave dwellers, under the Land Boundary Agreement.

The central government will draft a rehabilitation package after the enclaves are swapped.

Mamata tried to stake claim to the package too.

"We want a rehabilitation package because our people will come to us from across the border. They will need food, shelter, education, infrastructure. We will make it happen. This is our official decision," she said.

"Once this happens, we will flood the place with development," she added.

Mamata tried to kill a second bird with her enclave stone, that of mending matters with the neighbouring country.

Once a darling of Bangladesh, Mamata's stiff opposition to this agreement and the Teesta water sharing treaty had made her unpopular in Dhaka.Recently, the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) link to the Khagragarh blast case and the possibility of Bengal being a terror shelter for outfits planning attacks in Bangladesh had further strained the relationship.

Today, Mamata sent out a message of warmth and friendliness to Dhaka.

" Opar Bangla o epar Bangla, dui Banglar modhye shob shomoy modhur shomporko chhilo, achhey, thakbey (Bangladesh and Bengal, the relationship between the two Bengals was, is and will remain sweet). I want Bangladesh and Bengal to work together in harmony to sort out this problem and prosper together," she said.

Sources in her party said her decision to portray herself as "the messiah" of those toiling in the enclaves was her political masterstroke.