Will India suspend Ganga Water Treaty with Bangladesh? BJP MP wants Indus treaty-like pause to punish Muhammad Yunus

BJP parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey has urged the Centre to suspend water supply to Bangladesh amid pause on Indus Waters Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack. 

India has held Pakistan responsible for cross-border terrorism, with the latest attack in Pahalgam claiming 26 lives. Following this, the Centre has decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which gave India 20 per cent rights to the river water against Pakistan's 80 per cent.

With India's relations with Bangladesh hitting a low after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime and the appointment of Muhammad Yunus as its interim leader, Dubey has now called for similar measures against Bangladesh.

Dubey said the 1996 Ganga water agreement between India and Bangladesh is flawed. "The agreement for the waters of the Ganga was wrong, and it was a mistake made by the Congress government in 1996," he alleged. "How long will we provide water to snakes? It's time to crush them."

It should be noted that the Ganga Water Treaty inked in 1996 is set to expire in 2026. Bangladesh has been seeking more water during dry season amid water shortage. This comes amid dispute of Teesta water sharing.

In 1975, the Farakka Barrage became operation in West Bengal. The structure was constructed to divert water towards Hooghly River to bring down silting and improve navigability in the Kolkata Port. The Ganga Water Treaty governs that if the availability of water is 70,000 cusecs or less, India and Bangladesh would get 50 per cent each. If this goes up to 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh gets 35,000 cusecs and remaining for India. If it goes beyond 75,000, India gets 40,000 and Bangladesh receives the remaining water.

The BJP MP cited reports that Bangladesh's interim government is in constant touch with Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. "To stop the terror infiltration, both India and Bangladesh's borders need to be secured," the lawmaker added.

India