Supriyo criticises Mamata for rushing to go public on Teesta

Union minister Babul Supriyo today criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for going public on the Teesta water-sharing issue the same day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina were discussing bilateral ties in Delhi.
"Since on that very day, the prime minister and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina were slated to brief the media on the international treaty involving the two countries, it would have been prudent on her part not to go public on the issue on that day itself," he told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here.
"The Centre would never have bypassed the opinion of a state in a federal set-up and water being a state subject, West Bengal would have been consulted before any move. She (Mamata) could have spoken on the issue later," said Supriyo.

To a question on what would be the West Bengal BJP's stand on the issue of water-sharing between the two countries, the Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said, "We will go by what Prime Minister Modi says on the issue."
Banerjee had stated that other than Teesta, there were other rivers flowing into Bangladesh from India, the water of which could be shared with that country. She had also suggested a survey of these rivers to decide on the issue.
Replying to another question, Supriyo criticised the role of the Trinamool Congress government in tackling communal flare-ups in West Bengal.