Two former militants of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) from Alipurduar will join the second round of formal peace talks that the Centre has convened in New Delhi on February 25.
Along with Jibon Singha, the self-styled chief of the proscribed outfit who is in Assam now, Bhupesh Das and Dhananjoy Barman, who are from Kumargram block, will attend the talks.
“I, along with Bhupesh, will be present at the meeting. One round of talks was held earlier, but this time, we are hopeful that the longstanding demands and issues raised by us would be resolved,” Dhananjoy said over the phone on Thursday.
In the December round of talks in Delhi, a team of nine members, including D.L. Koch, who heads the KLO (KN) faction, and representatives of the Kamtapur State Demand Council (KSDC), were present. Three former militants, including Dhananjoy, also attended the talks.
Tapati Roy Mallick, the chairperson of the KSDC, who had attended the last round of talks, said that by Friday, the delegation for the next talks would be finalised.
She said when they had raised at the last meeting the demands of conferring the ST status on the Koch-Rajbanshi people and recognising the Rajbanshi (Kamtapuri) language, central government officials had said they were under consideration. “We had urged that subsequent talks be held shortly. It is good that the Centre has convened another round of talks within two months,” said Mallick.
The Trinamool Congress has dubbed the Centre’s decision to hold the peace talks ahead of the polls as an election stunt by the BJP. Trinamool said the BJP was playing identity politics to secure Rajbanshi votes without delivering concrete benefits to the community.
“This is nothing but an election stunt. The BJP has not done anything for the Rajbanshis and the people of north Bengal as a whole. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has done a lot for the community, including rehabilitation and jobs for former members of the outfit, schools and academies for Rajbanshi and Kamtapuri languages,” said Mridul Goswami, a Trinamool leader in Alipurduar.
GCPA posters
Banners carrying Ramazan greetings along with the slogan “Chopra Bodlai (Let’s Change Chopra)” were seen in the Chopra block of North Dinajpur district on Thursday.
The banners were put up by the Chopra block committee of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA) and feature the photo of the organisation’s Chopra block president, Somnath Singh.
“Unemployment is increasing day by day in Chopra, and schools are shutting down one after another. Unemployed youths are being made to stand in queues for allowances. From the very beginning, GCPA has been demanding a separate north Bengal state. If the demand is not fulfilled, we will field separate candidates across the region,” said Singh.
Bhabesh Kar, a block BJP leader, said: “We also want change. I would urge the GCPA leadership to support the BJP."
Fatebul Rahman, a vice-president of the Trinamool Congress in the block, said the GCPA lacked a base in Chopra. "This is a conspiracy by the BJP, but people will not respond to it,” he said.
Additional reporting by our Raiganj correspondent
