KLO linkmen threaten to boycott LS election if their demand is not met

Dibyendu Sinha, MP, 18 Dec 2023, Jalpaiguri: The KLO linkman ‘Nari Mahila Mancha Samannay’ Committee submitted a memorandum to the Jalpaiguri District Magistrate on Monday threatening that Kamtapur residents will abstain from voting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections if their demands are not met. 

The demands include immediate dialogue with chief of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Jibon Singha, to urge him to return to the mainstream. The list also includes the declaration of a separate Kamtapur state or a North Bengal Union Territory. Incidentally, KLO was declared a terrorist outfit by the Indian government in 2014. 

Jyotsna Roy, resident of the committee, talking to media persons, alleged: “The people of Kamtapur are deprived. The government is deceiving us. There is no development, which is why the movement is taking place. 

The peace meeting was supposed to address this issue, but the Central government has put our KLO chief under house arrest. A separate Kamtapur state or Indian Union Territory should be announced in the Winter session of Parliament with the swift conclusion of this peace meeting. With Parliamentary elections on the horizon, if nothing is done before that, it will have adverse consequences. 

Moreover, all Kamtapur residents will refrain from voting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.” 

On Monday, members of KLO Linkman Mahila (Women) Manch Samannay Committee marched from PWD More in Jalpaiguri city to the office of the District Magistrate, holding poster banners. However, the Jalpaiguri Kotwali Police stopped them. 

The KLO was formed in 1993 with the demand for a separate Kamtapur state, including areas from West Bengal and Assam, and initiated an armed movement. The Central government had taken Jibon Singha into custody a few months ago for peace negotiations. 

The Samannay Committee claims that the video has gone viral on social media. However, there has been no official acknowledgment from the Central or state governments. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/klo-linkmen-threaten-to-boycott-ls-election-if-their-demand-is-not-met-544712