State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, general secretary Rahul Sinha, Mukul Roy and other party supporters take part in a protest rally at Shyambazar on Tuesday against alleged violence and killing of party supporters by Trinamul Congress workers ahead of panchayat polls. (Photo: Abhijit Mukherjee)

Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP unit today took out a procession to protest against the violence during the filing of nomination for the three-tier panchayat polls.

Carrying placards, BJP activists shouted slogans against the state government over alleged violence during filing of nominations for the rural polls and alleged that democratic rights were being throttled in the state. The procession, which moved through the 1.7 km distance from Shyambazar in north Kolkata to Swami Vivekananda’s paternal house on Dhimla Street was led by West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, party national secretary Rahul Sinha and leader Mukul Roy.

“The state government is trying to make the panchayat polls a farce. Never before have the opposition parties in the state faced such a situation. They are not being allowed to file nominations by the ruling TMC,” Mr Ghosh said.

The TMC is desperate to control the rural bodies by “hook or crook” and has resorted to “all sorts of tricks” to stop the opposition from filing nominations.