Violence during West Bengal panchayat polls: State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh slams TMC for 'murdering democracy'

Kolkata: The West Bengal unit of the BJP on Tuesday slammed the TMC for "murdering democracy" in the state during Monday's panchayat polls that left at least 12 people dead and several injured.[caption id="attachment_4404675" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh. News18[/caption]State BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the law and order situation under the present government has completely collapsed in West Bengal."The TMC along with SEC (West Bengal State Election Commission) has murdered the democracy in the state. They have snatched away the democratic rights of the masses. If the TMC is so confident of the development it has done then why didn't it allow the masses to vote freely," Ghosh said.Widespread violence during the panchayat polls on Monday left at least 12 people dead and 43 injured, even as more than 73 percent of the electorate turned up to cast their vote.Opposition parties have accused the TMC of unleashing "a reign of terror and destroying democracy". The TMC has termed the allegations "baseless"."Initially, they didn't allow people to file nominations. And those who managed to do so were threatened by TMC and were asked to withdraw. The people who didn't withdraw were attacked. This is nothing but a complete destruction of the democratic process in the state," he said.The youth wing of the BJP has on Tuesday called a candlelight march in the city to protest against Monday's violence.Click here for LIVE updates on the West Bengal panchayat electionWest Bengal Panchayat Election RESULTS