Siliguri, April 21: The Darjeeling district CPM submitted a memorandum to the divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri today, seeking his intervention in the hills so that its party workers do not feel threatened.

“The leave-CPM-or-leave-the-hills diktat issued by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha against our workers indicates the hollowness of the so-called Gandhian movement and democratic principles that the party often speaks of,” said Jibitesh Sarkar, a state committee member of the CPM. “They are confining our workers, burning our offices and threatening our leader Asok Bhattacharya. They have even imposed restrictions on the movement of administrative officials.”

The Morcha had refused to allow district magistrate Rajesh Pandey to go back to Darjeeling after a lathicharge on a rally brought out by ex-serviceman injured 25 of them. The party had blamed Pandey for the violence.

The district CPM leadership has requested the former jawans not to tarnish their image by aligning with parties like the Morcha.

“They (ex-servicemen) have fought for the country and we feel proud of them,” Sarkar said. “They should directly approach the government with their suggestions and not come through a political party which is violent in its activities and can tarnish their image.”

Panel hearing

Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey and police superintendent Rahul Srivastava appeared before M.L. Meena, who is probing the lathicharge on ex-servicemen in Siliguri on April 9.

The additional district magistrate, subdivisional officer, Siliguri, and some police officials also deposed before the commission. Earlier in the day, Meena heard the ex-servicemen at the Kalimpong circuit house after they informed him that they were unable to come to Siliguri because of the state-wide bandh called by the Trinamul Congress.