New proposals from Bangladesh on flood control could be considered: India

New proposals from Bangladesh to prevent floods originating from common rivers could be considered. Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made this indication at the weekly briefing on Friday.

In recent times, India has been blamed by many for the devastating floods in Bangladesh. There have been several anti-India campaigns on social media in Bangladesh over this.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Kumar Verma, met Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus on 22 August. During the meeting, Dr Yunus made some proposals about tackling the prevailing flood situation and also about water sharing.

He proposed to adopt the same mechanism, which is the basis of the understanding between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) over border management, in the case of water-sharing management and initiatives to handle the flood situation.

In response to a question regarding this, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said there are 54 common rivers between the two countries. The two countries have been practising some recognised mechanisms over use of water resources and flood control and other related issues for a long time. As part of this, India regularly provides updates at the right time to Bangladesh as it is a downstream country.

He said, “The two countries also can discuss in case of any proposal for new mechanisms or arrangements that will reduce people’s sufferings. It definitely can be considered.”

It is now a widespread idea in Bangladesh that the flood this time is human-created and deliberate. Speaking regarding this, the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said India issued statements after the floods hit the eastern part of Bangladesh with detailed explanation of the reasons behind the flood, heavy rain. India didn’t deliberately do this to Bangladesh, he added.

Several questions came up at the press briefing yesterday regarding the cancellation of Sheikh Hasina’s diplomatic passport, how long India is going to host her and or whether Bangladesh made any request to extradite her. However, Randhir Jaiswal didn’t want to say anything in this except saying, “Sheikh Hasina came to India for security reasons with a short notice. India never responds to assumptive questions.”

Meanwhile, India said in a statement following a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden that the two leaders also discussed Bangladesh situations. However, there was no mention of such discussions in the statement published by the White House regarding the phone call which sparked controversy.

Speaking regarding this, Ranjit Jaiswal said the claims are far-fetched. Those who are stirring controversies have no idea about how global leaders proceed during a discussion. Biden and Modi definitely discussed the Bangladesh situation.

He further said, “First, the statement issued after the phone conversation between the two leaders was not any joint statement where use of each word is thoroughly judged. Second, that statement didn’t contain the details of the entire conversation. Third, it’s not abnormal that the leaders will come up with their own agendas. So, just because someone’s statement doesn’t mention something doesn’t mean it was not discussed.”

Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian statement is completely true.

In response to another question, the spokesperson said the ongoing Indian projects have been stalled since the change of regime. Many of the employees returned to India. Each of these projects aims at public welfare.

“India has always been a well-wisher of Bangladesh. India will talk to the government regarding the projects when everything returns to normal in Bangladesh. The new government is putting an all-out effort to restore normalcy and stability,” he added.

He said India expects Bangladesh will regain stability soon so that the public-oriented projects could be restarted.

In response to a question regarding the government lifting ban on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the party’s intention to improve relationships with India, Randhir Jaiswal said lifting ban on a political party is Bangladesh’s internal affair.

He said the statement of Jamaat-e-Islami chief on improving relationships has come to India’s attention.

Regarding issuing Indian visa for Bangladeshi citizens, he said visas are being issued only for emergency cases and medical purposes only. Visas will be issued in full swing once everything returns to normal.

However, he refrained from making any remark when asked whether India will take any initiative to send relief for the flood-victims of Bangladesh.

He only said the Indian high commissioner is in talks with chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus on various issues at the moment.