Siliguri, April 29: Taking cue from the neighbouring state of Sikkim, a delegation comprising Opposition party members and social workers held a meeting with the three-member team of the National Delimitation Commission.

The group called on the commission led by Justice Kuldip Singh and submitted a memorandum of their long-standing demand to merge the Mal-Mateli and Nagrakata areas of the Dooars into the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency.

The memorandum was signed by the Bharatiya Gorkha Gana Shakti, Darjeeling district Kisan Congress (Hills), Youth Congress Committee (Hills), Sikkim National Front as well as some legislators and academicians.

The memorandum stated that the earlier Darjeeling parliamentary constituency comprised the Darjeeling district as well as Mal-Mateli and Nagrakata from adjoining Jalpaiguri district, where a majority of voters consisted of Nepali-speaking hill tribes.

After the commencement of the Delimitation Commission Act of 1972, Mal-Mateli and Nagrakata were removed from the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency. The Assembly segments of Islampur and Chopra — then in West Dinajpur — were added to the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency.

Describing the move as an injustice, the memorandum said: “The Darjeeling parliamentary constituency is the only constituency from where the hill people can represent the Nepali-speaking community in the Parliament. Under the present circumstances, there is little chance for the people of Darjeeling to do so.”

The commission has been requested to increase the number of Assembly seats from the Darjeeling hills to the state Assembly.

It has been demanded that two wards of Sevoke Road, under the Siliguri municipal corporation and Dabgram-I panchayat of Jalpaiguri district, be included in the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency.

The delegation also pointed out that the tradition of nominating a resident from the hills to the Rajya Sabha was broken for the first time last year.