BJP Workers, Protesting Farmers Clash At Ghazipur Border Near Delhi

Farmer leaders have alleged that the incident is another BJP "conspiracy by the government" to give the protesters a bad name.

A clash broke out between anti-farm law protesters camping out at the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border at Ghazipur and the local BJP workers. Later, the BJP men held protests near the office of the local police chief, demanding that immediate action be taken against the farmers, who have been protesting at the highway since November last year. An investigation is in progress, the police said. The BJP workers were at the spot to meet party leader Amit Pradhan who was on his way to Bulandshahr. The farmers objected when they saw the BJP men, with party flags, gathering at the protest spot around noon. They showed black flags to the BJP men, setting off an altercation which turned violent. Stones were thrown and the BJP leader's car was allegedly attacked. The protesters, mostly supporters of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, have been camping at the spot since last year, demanding the scrapping of the Centre's new farm laws. Part of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway has been shut since.