In the last few years, India has been witness to many tussles between the Centre and the states on foreign policy issues. Taking advantage of the compulsions of coalition politics, in which a government at the Centre would not be in a position to ignore pressures from the states, regional subahdars have often derailed positive foreign policy initiatives by the government in Delhi. Closer home, Mamata Banerjees tantrums forced Manmohan Singh to back down on signing the Teesta water-sharing treaty during his Dhaka visit in 2011. Not only did Banerjee pull the rug from under Singhs feet by refusing to join his entourage as other chief ministers of states bordering Bangladesh had done, but she...
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