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Bardhaman blast: Blast put on backburner, parties debate infiltration

NIA probe leads to J&K, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

Teesta river (Getty Images)

KOLKATA: With Jamaat-e-Islami links being found in the Bardhaman blast , the Bangladesh government is now planning to go all out to pressure Mamata Banerjee so that it becomes easier for that country to get access to Teesta water, which Mamata has been opposing.Indian soil being used to harbour Bangladeshi terrorists — especially when Narendra Modi’s policy is to improve relations with Bangladesh — is a major agenda for the neighbouring country. It may halt the proposed increased frequency of the Moitree Express as well as the proposed bus route to Tripura from Kolkata via Bangladesh. This road link to Tripura from Kolkata will reduce transportation cost hugely, said officials.After foreign minister Sushma Swaraj ’s visit to Dhaka, it was decided that the frequency of the Dhaka-Kolkata train would be increased. Now, an Indian rake travels to Dhaka on Tuesday and returns to Kolkata on Wednesday. The Bangladeshi rake comes to Kolkata on Friday and returns on Saturday. An official said it was decided to have another Indian train travel to Dhaka on Sunday and return to Kolkata on Monday. But now, Dhaka officials are not keen to increase the frequency of train immediately.It was due to the West Bengal chief minister’s staunch opposition that former Prime Minister Manmhoan Singh failed to ink the Teesta pact during his September 2011 visit to Dhaka. Mamata did not accompany Singh to Dhaka to mark her protest. Political analysts in Bangladesh had stated that pro-Jamaat leaders had prodded Mamata to oppose the water-sharing as this would give political mileage to Sheikh Hasina.The ‘Jamaat link’ issue is likely to come up for discussion during the Saarc meeting in Kathmandu in November. Bangladesh officials believe Jamaat activists are aiming to destabilize the Hasina government. Their National Security Intelligence is also probing to find out if the Jamaat is planning to attack Hasina.The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, however, denied any link with the Bardhaman blast or any contact with the Jamaat-e-Mujahideen Bangladesh on its website on Saturday.The high alert on terrorist activities even stopped the joint immersion in the Icchamati this year, which has been a tradition for decades.