Mamata denies TMC violence against opposition candidates

Kicking off her party's campaign for the crucial panchayat polls in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today brushed aside allegation that cadres of her party had unleashed terror on opposition candidates to prevent them from filing nominations.

Claiming that the highest 1,70,000 nominations have been filed so far in any panchayat election in Bengal for the three-phase polling on July 2, 6 and 9, Banerjee told an election rally here in North 24-Paraganas district that not a single untoward incident has happened.

"Canards are being spread that opposition candidates are not being allowed to file nomination. There have been the highest number 1,7000 nominations for the gram panchayat, panchayat samitis and zilla parishad seats so far. Not a single untoward incident had happened.

Nominations were going on peacefully," she said. Banerjee said in the panchayat election of 2003 when CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power, 45 people were killed in poll-related violence during the nomination filing period and 37 others died on the day of polling.

"Another 27 persons had died in post-poll incidents," she said. The Left front and Congress have alleged that opposition parties were being attacked by TMC activists prior to the polls in the state and urged the State Election Commission to ensure fool-proof security.