Bhubaneswar: Workers and leaders of the Opposition party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday held a massive protest against curtailment of Panchayati Raj powers in Odisha. They engaged in a scuffle with the police at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar while marching ahead to gherao the state Assembly in protest against the Odisha government’s alleged attempt to limit the powers of elected representatives under the Panchayati Raj Institutions. The protesters holding banners and placards were spotted making anti-government slogans, accusing the ruling BJP of murdering democracy and the Panchayati Raj system in Odisha. Speaking to media persons, senior BJD leader Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said, “The people of Odisha know that late Biju Patnaik played a pioneering role in empowering people’s representatives through the Panchayati Raj system. The whole country has heard about ‘Vote Chori,’ but here in Odisha, the BJP is engaged in the theft of the powers of elected representatives.