UNION CABINET APPROVED CONSTITUTION 119TH AMENDMENT BILL

Union Cabinet approved Constitution 119th Amendment Bill on LBA between India and Bangladesh includes Assam

1.The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved Constitution 119th Amendment Bill on the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh.

2.(119th Constitutional Amendment act of 2013) will allow the operationalisation of the 1974 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary agreement also India and Bangladesh will exchange several enclaves which are under each other's adverse possession.

3.Instead of fierce resistance from the BJP’s Assam unit and other political parties Assam has been included in Bill for land swap with Bangladesh

What is there in this 119th Amendment Bill ?

1.Under the land boundary agreement, India and Bangladesh will exchange several enclaves which are under each other's adverse possession. The bill also includes the territories in Assam in addition to territories of West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.
2.The bill will need ratification by the Parliament and would also require ratification of at least 50 percent of the state legislatures before it comes into effect.
Earlier in 2013, the bill in regard to this was placed in the Rajya Sabha and subsequently was referred to a select committee, which was headed by Shashi Tharoor of Congress. Later, the committee unanimously recommended implementation of the deal.

Background of 119th Amendment Bill

1.The historic protocol on the Land Boundary Agreement was inked between India and Bangladesh on 6 September 2011 during the visit of the then Prime Minister Mahmohan Singh to Bangladesh. It was inked following the talks between Mahmohan Singh and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.
2.Later, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Bangladesh on 27 June 2014 discussed the Land Boundary Agreement with the leaders of the nation.