A correspondent:
Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister (CM) Professor Dr Manik Saha on Monday expressed his desire to visit Dhaka to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the visiting Jatiya Press Club (JPC) delegation met him and exchanged views.
The 17-member delegation of JPC led by its President Farida Yasmin and General Secretary Shyamal Dutta met the chief minister at his official residence in the Tripura capital of the north-eastern Indian state in the evening.
The chief minister said, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina regularly gifts me mangoes and I send her pine-apple as gift, but I haven’t met her.”
After being elected as chief minister twice, he is yet to visit Bangladesh, Manik Saha said, adding: “I want to meet and talk with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (on different issues).”
The CM said he has directed his officials to work on the visit as he is keen to meet the Sheikh Hasina before the upcoming national election of Bangladesh.
“I know Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has a special place for the people of Tripura in her heart,” he said, referring to Bangladesh as a close neighbour.
During the open discussion with the JPC delegation, the CM reminisced about the War of Liberation of Bangladesh.
Manik Saha also said political stability in Bangladesh is always expected.
He, as well, expressed his gratitude to Bangladesh and its government, saying that “insurgency in the North-East of India has been eliminated due to the concerted efforts of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as well as Bangladesh-India relations.”
He noted: “If Bangladesh remains stable, the relationship between the two countries will reach another height in future.”
The CM also stressed the need of increasing people-to-people contact, saying the communication system with Bangladesh is improving gradually.
