Ranchi, Sept 8 (PTI)Police used water cannons and batons to break up protests Wednesday by the BJP against allotment of a room for offering `Namaz" (Islamic prayers) in the state Assembly. The state BJP said a number of its workers were injured in the "lathi charge" (baton charge) and have been admitted to city hospitals. The BJP which had taken to the streets against the decision to allow a `Namaz" room in the Assembly said it will observe a "Black Day" on Thursday against `lathi charge" of its workers and asked all its activists will sport black badges on that day. BJP MLAs also raised the issue of "lathi charge" in the Assembly and demanded a reply by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the issue. As a mark of protest, BJP MLAs were seen wearing posters which they removed later on the speaker objecting to them. BJP workers also tried to `gherao" the Assembly by jumping police barricades prompting the administration to use water canons and lathi-charge. The MLAs sat at the entrance of the Jharkhand Assembly and chanted `Hanuman Chalisa" (prayers to Lord Hanuman). They also held "Hare Ram" and "Jai Shri Ram" placards in protest against the decision. BJP leaders later accused the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government for its "appeasement policy" saying it was hardly bothered about constitutional values and tradition. BJP leader and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi said: "Nobody was spared from being lathicharged - even women were not spared. We simply demand recall of the order allotting a `Namaz" room. There is no need for any temple in the temple of democracy." Observing a fast in the state assembly premises, National Vice-President of BJP and former Jharkhand Chief Minister, Raghubar Das said the fast was being observed in protest against Soren-led government"s "anti-Hindu mentality and appeasement policy". "It (state government) has tarnished the values of secular fabric for vote bank politics ... Besides, the government has removed Hindi and included Urdu in the employment policy, which is also vote bank politics," alleged Das. Union Minister of Tribal affairs, Arjun Munda condemned the lathi charge on party workers saying they were staging peaceful dharna in protest against Jharkhand Government"s "appeasement policy." Munda described the incident as "shameful". The state BJP said a number of party workers including BJP Backward Front President Amardeep Yadav and a number of women workers were injured in the lathi charge. A row broke out in Jharkhand after the assembly speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto allotted room number TW 348 in the Assembly for offering `Namaz" through a notification last week. The opposition leaders have been protesting against the decision, calling it "unconstitutional." They are also demanding a separate hall for chanting "Hanuman chalisa." PTI NAM NAM JRC JRC