Jibon Singha, the self-styled chief of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), said on Wednesday that the Narendra Modi government has called him for another round of peace talks on February 25, barely 50 days after the last round of discussions.

Singha said he received the message that he has been called for the talks to be organised by the Union home ministry in Delhi.

The KLO has been a proscribed terror outfit since November 2014.

However, it remains unclear whether the Bengal government has been officially informed or invited to the meeting.

“This round of talks could be decisive, and we will seek a concrete roadmap in support of our longstanding demands. If the peace dialogue does not culminate in a formal agreement this time, I will clarify my political stand ahead of the elections,” Singha said over the phone on Wednesday evening.

The KLO has been demanding a Kamtapur state, recognition of the Rajbanshi/Kamtapuri language and conferment of Scheduled Tribe status to the Koch-Rajbanshi community.

In January 2023, Singha had responded to the government's call for peace talks and had walked into Assam from Myanmar with some of his cadres. Since then, he had been pushing for talks and a decision on his organisation's demands.

Last year, from December 29 to December 31, Singha, along with Tapati Roy Mallick, the president of the Kamtapur State Demand Council (KSDC) — an apex body of organisations that seek a new state to be carved out of Bengal — and some others, had held a series of meetings with representatives of the Centre.

After the talks, both Singha and the KSDC had described the discussions as fruitful in a joint press statement.

A source said that since the second week of January, Jibon Singha had been pressing the Centre for a final round of talks, keeping in mind the Assembly polls in Bengal and Assam.

Mallick, the KSDC chairman, pointed out that Singha had renounced militancy and had been engaged in peace negotiations with the Centre.

“We are hopeful that a final decision will be reached. Internal discussions are underway to finalise the delegation that will attend the February 25 meeting,” she said.

Earlier, the KSDC had announced a railway blockade on February 15 in Assam and Bengal in response to their demands.

The protest, however, was called off when they got to know that the talks would be held on February 25, said a source.

Political observers believe the timing of the talks, ahead of the Assembly polls, was significant. The Rajbanshi vote bank is a crucial factor in north Bengal.