A non-political public rally today to protest the administration's failure to combat violence in Nandigram and efforts to gag protests against it swelled into a kilometre-long procession, and drew a large number of well-known public figures as well as thousands of students and professionals. Starting from the book market in College Street, the procession was the largest public rally against Nandigram in recent times overshadowing the recent rallies staged by opposition parties like the Trinamul or Congress, political observers here said.
