The Kamtapur Progressive Party will launch a series of agitations against what it describes as the BJP-led central government’s continued indifference to the KPP's long-standing demands.
The movement will begin with a march in Cooch Behar on November 22, followed by similar programmes in all districts of north Bengal. The KPP will later hold sit-in demonstrations outside the residences of BJP MPs and MLAs in the region.
Chandan Singha, the vice-president of the KPP, a party that is believed to have considerable clout among the Rajbanshi community, said the decision to intensify the movement was taken at the organisation’s central committee meeting held in Cooch Behar on November 16.
“We will organise a march from Sagardighi in Cooch Behar on November 22 to protest against the central government, which has failed to fulfil any of its commitments to our (Rajbanshi/Kamtapuri) community,” Singha said here on Tuesday.
The KPP leader, who is also the party’s spokesperson, added that during the last Assembly and Parliamentary elections, BJP leaders, including Union home minister Amit Shah, had promised that the Kamtapuri (Rajbanshi) language would be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
“We were also assured that our demand for a separate Kamtapur state would be considered. They had also promised the installation of the statues of Thakur Panchanan Barma and Chila Roy. Not a single promise has been honoured,” he said.
“In view of these unfulfilled assurances, we have decided to launch a sustained movement, beginning with the Cooch Behar rally. After completing district-level rallies, we will hold sit-in demonstrations in front of the residences of BJP MPs and MLAs,” Singha added.