Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party members clashed early on Monday in the Bonli town in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district over a plaque that was installed at the base of a statue of BR Ambedkar, The Indian Express reported.

The clash started around 2 am on Monday and lasted for about two hours, the newspaper reported.

Two years ago, during the Congress government, a statue of Ambedkar was unveiled in Bonli. Ahead of Ambedkar Jayanti on Monday, beautification work was underway, and on Sunday, a plaque bearing the names of Congress MLA Indira Meena and other party workers was installed on the statue.

Upon learning about the plaque, BJP workers alerted local party leaders. BJP block president Hanuman Dixit and Panchayat Samiti Pradhan Krishan Poswal then arrived at the site and insisted that it should be removed.

Following this, Meena also arrived at the scene and objected to the BJP leaders’ demand. During the ensuing scuffle, she was seen in videos purportedly climbing on to Dixit’s car and grabbing his collar.

The police arrived at the scene after receiving information about the clash and brought the situation under control. The plaque has been seized and is now at the Bonli police station, The Hindu reported.

Meena claimed that a group of intoxicated BJP workers arrived at the spot around 9 pm on Sunday, misbehaved with the labourers, forcibly removed the nameplate, and disrupted the ongoing work.

“Baba Saheb is not just a person but the hope and voice of crores of Dalits, deprived and exploited people,” she said in a post on X. “The attack on him is not on a statue but on the Constitution which gave us the right to equality, parity and justice.”

Meena further alleged that the police failed to act against the BJP workers due to their party being in power in the state, The Hindu reported.

Dixit denied that BJP workers misbehaved with labourers.

“I tried to handle the situation maturely, but MLA Indira Meena misbehaved with me,” he said, according to The Indian Express. “When the work of beautification is done by the BJP government, why was the Congress MLA trying to put her name plate for something already completed two years ago?”