The Darjeeling district CPM will press the state and central governments for its old demand for greater autonomy for Darjeeling hills and reach out to the hill-based parties to consolidate support for it.

On Monday, secretary of the CPM’s Darjeeling district committee Saman Pathak said: “In 2005, a memorandum of settlement was prepared to include Darjeeling under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution on December 6. It, however, did not work. Now, we want an amended version of it to be implemented for the hills so that the region enjoys higher autonomy while continuing to be a part of Bengal.”

Pathak, in a news meet, said they would soon meet representatives of different political parties that have support bases in the hills — barring Trinamool and BJP — to garner support for their demand.

“We want better protection of all the communities dwelling in the hills, along with the socio-economic development. A regional autonomous body that will have constitutional validation and more power, is what we want for the hills,” said Pathak.

The resolution, he said, was made at the two-day 24th Darjeeling district conference of the CPM in Siliguri, which ended on Saturday.

He also lashed out at the BJP and accused the saffron party of exploiting the aspirations of hill residents since 2009 by making certain commitments but not keeping them. He also alleged that the Trinamool Congress had failed to carry out development in the hills.

“The BJP has been exploiting the hill people by making false promises to them for the past 16 years. The party’s leaders speak of a permanent political solution and ST status for some communities only to bag Darjeeling (Lok Sabha seat),” said the district secretary of CPM.

“The people in the hills are not trusting them anymore and looking for alternatives. This has been proved by the recent rise of another party led by Ajoy Edwards in the hills,” he added.

At the CPM meet in Siliguri, the party also formed a 40-member district committee in which some new faces were included.