KOLKATA: The convoy of Union Minister Nisith Pramanik was attacked on Saturday allegedly by supporters of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district, a charge the ruling party dismissed.
The incident occurred in the Sahibganj area when Pramanik attempted to visit the Block Development Office where scrutinising nomination papers for the upcoming panchayat polls was going on.
The minister claimed that he went there following reports of TMC activists "blocking the road to the BDO office and engaging in malpractices".
"When I attempted to visit the BDO office, my convoy was pelted with stones. Bombs were hurled at us. TMC activists beat up our party workers, and papers belonging to our candidates were destroyed. It is shameful that the police stood by as mere spectators," Pramanik alleged.
The union minister also claimed that BJP workers were prevented from entering the BDO office, citing Section 144 of CrPC, while "TMC activists were allowed to assemble outside" the office premises.
However, the TMC termed these allegations as "baseless".
He insisted that the scrutiny of nomination papers should be conducted in the presence of central forces to ensure transparency in the process.
Television footage showed clashes between activists of both parties, with crude bombs being thrown during the altercation.
Reacting to the incident, TMC leader and North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha accused the BJP of "instigating its workers to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in the state".
"The BJP is attempting to disturb the upcoming polls by creating unrest.
The union minister, accompanied by central forces, tried to disrupt the scrutiny process.
They are using central forces to spread fear," he claimed.
Widespread violence over the filing of nominations for the upcoming panchayat polls has left five people dead and several injured in various parts of the state.