Allahabad, Jan 17: Police baton charged agitating activists of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Friday, protesting against falling governance in the state.

The BJP has blamed the State''s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Government for terrorising people and large-scale extortion prceeding the birthday celebrations of the Chief Minister Mayawati who also happens to be the chief of BSP.

About 5000 BJP activists staged a protest rally shouting anti-Mayawati led Government slogans before they were stopped by the police and forced to court arrest.

Many of the party activists were injured during the clash with the police.

"Police baton charged the activists who came to court arrest. We were in large numbers, but they forcibly pushed us into small vehicles. In the clash, 20 to 22 of our activists were injured," said Mahendra Nath Pandey, head of Allahabad city unit of BJP.

In November, 2008, an engineer of Uttar Pradesh''s Public Works Department, M K Gupta was beaten to death in Auraiya, allegedly by a legislator of State unit of the BSP.

It was alleged that the engineer met his end since he did not oblige the (legislator who was mobilising funds for the Chief Minister''s birthday bash fund. (ANI)