After criticising police action against some intellectuals at the venue of the Kolkata Film Festival, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Tuesday trained his gun on intellectuals, alleging a section of them was trying to obstruct the cultural event on the pretext of protesting against the Nandigram violence.

He said the protest by intellectuals had tarnished the image of the city where many foreign dignitaries were present.

''How can this be allowed in the city whose very prestige is associated with the film festival, especially in the presence of a host of foreign dignitaries,'' Bhattacharya said at a press conference in Kolkata on Tuesday.

The chief minister, however, regretted the police action on the procession which was organised by some intellectuals in Kolkata last Sunday.

''The way they wanted to protest was not the right one but at the same time such incidents of police action are always undesirable. It would be better if there was no such incident,'' Bhattacharya said.