New Delhi : The government will bring a bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to operationalise the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh.
The bill, which the BJP had opposed while it was in the opposition, amends the First Schedule of the Constitution to give effect to an agreement entered into by India and Bangladesh on the acquiring and transfer of territories between the two countries on May 16, 1974.
The First Schedule defines the area of each state and union territory which together constitute India.
The bill to operationalise the agreement with Bangladesh includes exchange of territories in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya, and was cleared by the union cabinet in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning.
Highly placed sources in the government said a meeting of BJP MPs, many of whom were opposed to the bill, was called on Monday and they were informed that the bill was beneficial for India.
“It will result in sealing of boundaries with Bangladesh, and check infiltration,” a senior minister said. “It will also be good for India-Bangladesh relations.”
The minister said all states involved and political parties were in support of the bill.
The bill in its present form also includes Assam, which was earlier kept out of it following opposition from the state.
The Congress has said it will not support the bill unless Assam was included.
Sources said Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and made their stand clear.
As the constitutional amendment needed a two-thirds majority in both houses, and the government is in minority in the Rajya Sabha, they agreed to it.
Government sources said the aim was to get the bill through in this session.
“Once passed by the Rajya Sabha, we will get it cleared by the Lok Sabha in this session,” the minister said.