Bangladesh and India are "tested true friends" and it is a must to sort out any outstanding issue that is a concern for the two neighbouring South Asian countries. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata on her historic win and her reply has rekindled hopes that the burning Teesta river water sharing will be solved soon.
Mamata Banarjee wrote that the 'I have no doubt that the love and affection we (Bangladesh and West Bengal) share and so dearly cherish, will be strengthened even further in the days to come... Bangladesh and Bengal, though geographically apart, are tied together by the bonds of friendship, brotherhood, common culture and heritage."
Yes, definitely all are diplomatic jargon, yet people want to see hope in finding a quick end to the Teesta water crisis triggering the process of desertification in a large part of deltaic Bangladesh.
We truly hope that Mamata Banerjee will show her statesmanship as a new national leader of India with many speculating the straight third win as West Bengal's chief minister might take her to New Delhi to take charge of India. The fiery Bengali politician fought a battle with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to return to power, though she lost her Nandigram seat. She has to win a seat within six months to continue as the chief minister.
Unless that win, we will have to probably wait as she would not like to lose a single vote over the Teesta river issue. But we want her to give a spoecial thrust in further cementing Bangladesh-India ties rooted since the 1971 Independence War. It was in her West Bengal state's Kolkata where the leaders fighting the Pakistani army lived and officiated even after the formation of a government in exile on 17 April 1971 inside Bangladesh. Many thousands who fled the killings were also sheltered in the state, besides in North-eastern India.With that spirit let us shout together "Joy Bangla."