Post BTR Treaty Signing, Koch-Rajbongshis Appeal KLO to Join Peace Talks with Government

Basugaon, March 1, 2020:

Reiterating the demand for a Separate State, Kamtapur, the the All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union led a huge congregation of several groups in its roar in Assam's Chirang. The gathering, held in Chirang's Basugaon, saw prominent leaders of the student body calling upon the militant outfit Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) to join "peace talks."

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In the massive gathering of Koch-Rajbongshis, a large number of women, belonging to the Koch-Rajbongshi Mahila Samiti were also present and they joined the menfolk in the demand of a separate.

Gokul Dutta, the General Secretary of the organization, said that the Assam Government has not taken an inititative " Through this massive rally we want to tell the Government if they do not follow their promise to grant ST status word-by-word, we will be forced to rebel."

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The Koch-Rajbongshi leader, slamming the Government as "one-sided", said that despite signing a BTR treary with the Bodo community, the Government is yet to take any concrete steps to resolve the issues of the Koch-Rajbongshi community. "By signing treaties with armed groups again and again, they have proved that only if someone takes up arms, they will listen to them."

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Dutta also called upon the KLO, the separatist group demanding a separate State for the community, to join peace talks to resolve the long-standing demands of the Government.

The organization has also urged the Government to grant at least Rs 1,000 crore for the development of the Koch-Rajbongshi fraternity in Assam.

Tension has long been simmering in the BTAD region, especially since the signing of the BTR Treaty, with the non-Bodo groups also demanding special rights. Thus, the demand for ST, and, in the case of the Koch-Rajbongshis, a separate state, have again gained momentum in the aftermath of the signing of the BTR Treaty.

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