Lucknow, Aug 24 (IANS): More than a dozen persons, including policemen, were injured here on Wednesday when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters tried to blockade the assembly, which is in session.

The protest was to highlight the alleged lawlessness and soaring crime rate in Uttar Pradesh.

Led by state BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya, thousands of BJP leaders and workers tried to march towards the assembly complex, but were stopped by policemen at the barricades put up at many places to prevent agitators from moving forward.

When the BJP protesters refused to back down, the police lobbed teargas shells, used water canons and resorted to cane charge to disperse them.

Some among the agitators pelted stones at police personnel, injuring a few of them, including Hazratganj Circle Officer Ashok Verma, and a media photographer.

The BJP workers sought the resignation of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and said he had lost the moral authority to rule Uttar Pradesh.

State BJP spokesman Harish Chandra Srivastava said party legislators, office-bearers, youth wing workers and members of its executive participated in the protest.