In an apparent attempt to score political points, an SP worker, who is also a vegetable vendor, purportedly hired bouncers to "protect" the produce in his store amid record high prices of tomatoes across the country.
Ajay Fauji, who runs a grocery business in Lanka area of Varanasi, has deployed two bouncers, he says, to prevent buyers from getting aggressive while haggling the tomato prices.
Mr Fauji had earlier cut a tomato-shaped cake in Varanasi on the birthday of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
"I kept hearing about arguments over the tomato price among people. People at my shop too tried to haggle. So to put an end to the constant arguments, I decided to deploy bouncers in uniform at my cart," Fauji told PTI.
Mr Fauji's shop also has a placard mentioning the rising prices of commodities over the last "nine years," an apparent reference to the period the Narendra Modi-led government has been in power at the Centre.
Mr Fauji, who is selling tomatoes at Rs 140-160 per kg, has the bouncers deployed at his cart from 9 am to 5 pm.
He refused to reveal how much he hired them for. "No one will provide bouncers free of cost." Asked how keeping bouncers has helped him, he claimed that even though people are coming in same numbers, they are less aggressive about the pricing now.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav too shared the image of a news clip relating to Mr Fauji and his bouncers, and tweeted, "The BJP should provide 'Z-Plus' security to tomatoes."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
KTR Break Dance Comment Row: Time To Change Anti-Women Mindset?
Tomato Rates Soar To Rs 100/kg In Delhi As Rains Hit Supply Tomato Rates Surge To Rs 90/kg In Delhi As Supplies Hit Due To Rain Retail Prices Of Tomates In Delhi Surge To Rs 70-80 Per Kg Due To Heatwave Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Video: Woman Tries To Jump Off Mumbai's Atal Setu, Saved By Driver, Cops How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan "Shoot Me Up With...": What Matthew Perry Told Assistant Hours Before Death Exotic Trips, Luxury Cars: Inside The Lavish Life Of LA's "Ketamine Queen" Kerala Launches 1st Digital Court For Negotiable Instruments Cases Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.