Not quite surprising, but that's the way 'beauty of democracy' travels. The Congress is hardly a party to be talked about in Tripura.
The real political tussle now in Tripura is between the Leftists and the saffron outfit.
But the Congress party has many 'talents' and they would force people discuss about India's grand old party even in far-off northeast.
Could you guess ?
Yes, Sam Pitroda was being talked about along the India-Bangladesh border.
I visited Akhaura border along the Bangladesh-Tripura line within hours Sam Pitroda made a unique statement.
"We should include everybody. If we have to suffer a little bit, it's okay. But, nobody wants to share (resources). They want to keep their pie bigger and bigger," asserted Rahul Gandhi's guru and 'uncle' Pitroda, who is also the chairperson of the Indian Overseas Congress.
The issue of illegal immigration has dominated the narrative ahead of the February 5 Delhi polls. While the Delhi Police has ramped up its crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, India's ruling BJP (but out of power in the city Govt since Nov 1998) has promised to free the capital from illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas if it wins the election.
The saffron party is making yet another desperate bid to win power in the city Government.
That way the BJP is out of power from Delhi for about 25 years. The Congress ruled Delhi under veteran Sheila Dikshit between 1998 and 2013 December.
And from 2015, the AAP is in power.
Interestingly. I spoke to a communist supporter in Akhaura border - Moinuddin Islam. But he was also shell-shocked by Pitroda's remarks and clarified:
"I was clearly embarrassed by Sam Pitroda's statement. If he wants Muslim votes for Congress, he should do exactly the opposite of what he has been stating. He has made us unsafe and made us appear very cheap and almost anti-national," said Moinuddin.
His argument sounded quite reasonable --"Even Indian Muslims are against illegal immigration of Muslims - Bengalis or Rohingyas... This is our country.... National interests come first, And I say this despite my being a permanent CPI-M supporter for decades".
Moinuddin is a trader in the locality and is also certainly disturbed by the "chaotic developments" in Bangladesh since August 2024 and which all have subsequently impacted trade between two neighbours.
India and Bangladesh are major trading partners in South Asia. India is also Bangladesh's largest trading partner in the region.
It is true India's exports to Bangladesh had increased over the last five-ten years since Narendra Modi came to power in Delhi and ensured friendship with Sheikh Hasina.
In 2022, India exported $13.8 billion to Bangladesh while in 2023, export materials worth $11.25 billion were traded.
In 2024, from April to August, the business was good but trades dropped after the interim regime took charge.
Tulu Das runs a small time tea stall with some typical Bengali snacks and sweets such as Rasogolla and Singara. He too is feeling the pinch of drop in trade between India and Bangladesh. He supported BJP in 2018 assembly polls in Tripura when the Leftists were ousted. But in 2023 - he did not exercise his democratic rights.
There were others in the locality who said the India-Bangladesh should improve fast.
"I do not understand politics much...But If Hasina is out, so what; we should soon establish good ties with Bangladesh. I am not blaming the BJP government in Delhi alone; we want even the Bangladesh government to discuss things and do the adjustment," said another businessman in the locality.
One truck operator from Bangladesh interacted briefly before crossing over to Bangladesh after all his papers were cleared.
"I was told about visa restrictions from India on Bangladeshi citizens... after August when Sheikh Hasina resigned and shifted to Delhi. I am sure the restriction has impacted many Bangladeshis in our country who used to travel for medical reasons. Moreover, tourism in both the countries will be impacted," he said.
Jawans of BSF guard the Indian side while the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGF) guard their side and also facilitate passengers' movements between the two countries.
Three Integrated Check Posts operate between India and Bangladesh. The third ICP came into being in August 2017 at Sabroom.
Akhaura operates at Agartala and Srimantapur at Sonamura. Till 2023 these two ICPs functioned.
In 2023 the Maitri Setu was opened up facilitate the travel from Southern point of Tripura with Chittagong port and district in Bangladesh covering a distance of 80 kilometers.
But the political turmoil in Bangladesh and 'skirmishes' in bilateral ties have impacted businesses in more ways than one.
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment