PATNA: The JD(U) and the BJP, major allies of the ruling NDA in Bihar, have taken different stands on the Farakka Water Sharing Treaty with Bangladesh. JD(U)’s stand on the Farakka Barrage issue has not gone down well with the BJP.
A day after JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha urged the Centre not to renew the treaty, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday summoned all BJP ministers apparently to seek their opinion on the contentious issue. Though BJP leaders said the meeting was called to discuss preparations for ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, sources claimed that the simmering ties with JD(U) prompted Choudhary to discuss the Farakka issue. “The way JD(U) is raising the Farakka treaty hints at its conflict with the BJP. JD(U) is trying to exert pressure on the Centre by raising such issues,” a political analyst said.
The CM said Bihar’s interest should be protected in any decision on renewing the treaty. He pointed out that under the current arrangement, Bihar can effectively utilise Ganga water for four months of the year (July to October). The Bihar government is trying to include a new clause in the renewed Farakka agreement to guarantee year-round access to the state’s water share, he added.
Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Choudhary of JD(U) recently visited Delhi to apprise the Centre of state’s concern over the treaty. The 1996 treaty is to be renewed in December this year. Jha said Bihar has not got its due share of water even after three decades. “Bihar’s share of water had been stolen,” he asserted.
He contended that the state’s water share should be restored keeping in mind growing population and needs. “Injustice has been meted out to Bihar. At the time of the treaty, Bihar’s population was 7.25 crore. Now it has doubled,” Jha said, urging the Centre to terminate the treaty.