Chandigarh: Police used water canons and used mild force against farmers who were holding protest and clashed with the police on national highway at Moga in Punjab outside new grain market where Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal was to address a meeting.
Five farmers and some cops were hurt in the incident.
The SAD, however, alleged that the protests were a part of the ruling party's conspiracy.
According to reports, a group of protesting farmers reached near the venue of the SAD rally and raised slogans where they clashed with the police. At least ten vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
Police claimed that some of the protesters scuffled with them and hurled stones in a bid to force their way inside the SAD event venue in Moga's grain market. "We warned them several times. But some protesters resorted to pelting of stones after which police used force and a water cannon to disperse them.
"They had also blocked the national highway near the spot which was later cleared," police said, adding around 35 of the 600 odd protesters have been detained and the situation brought under control.
Badal had recently started a 100-day "yatra" across the assembly constituencies in Punjab in view of the upcoming assembly polls.
The SAD leader Bikram Singh Singh Majithia, however, alleged that the attempts to disrupt the massive Akali gatherings being organised as part of the party's Gal Punjab Di campaign were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy of the Congress party in conjunction with the central government to disturb the hard won peace in Punjab and impose President's rule in the State.
Addressing a press conference here, Majithia said the disruptive conspiracy had a twin objective - to postpone the assembly elections in Punjab as well as defame the peaceful farmer movement. He said senior farmer leaders were also wary of this conspiracy and that was why they had given clear cut directions to take only BJP leaders to task and not disturb any other programme of any political party in Punjab.
Majithia claimed that the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has already made it clear that protests against any other party except the BJP would only serve to help the central government and would harm the cause of the farmers.
Majithia claimed that he had photographic and video evidence to expose Congress and AAP workers who were "trying their level best to disturb ongoing programmes of the SAD including an attack on his car as well as violence unleashed in Moga today."