The Gujarat Police on Monday used their batons on a group of cloth traders who were protesting against the Goods and Service Tax in Surat. The cloth merchants are demanding a complete rollback of the 5% tax on fabric and their agitation was in support of an ongoing indefinite bandh called by the GST Sangharsh Samiti.

The police said they were forced to use batons after some protestors started throwing stones. “We had to resort to lathi charge after some protesters pelted the policemen with stones, injuring one personnel,” Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma told PTI. The traders, however, alleged that the police action was unprovoked. “The police started beating up the protesting traders even when they were carrying out their protest peacefully,” said trader Gaurav Shrimali.

The traders have been arguing for the tax exemption on the grounds that cloth merchants were never taxed before, reported Mint. They also said that they did not have enough time to shift to the new system. The protest comes on a day when the GST Sangarsh Samiti office-bearers are scheduled to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss their demand for “no GST” on fabric, reported The Times of India.