Lucknow, Aug 4 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress staged a demonstration here on Tuesday to protest the suspension of 25 of its lawmakers from the Lok Sabha for five days.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Nirmal Khatri said the decision was taken by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and termed it a "black day" in India's democratic history.

Demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision, the state unit said Modi was behaving like a dictator and should instead learn to respect the democratic values of India.

Amid shouting of slogans, the protesting Congress workers marched from the Gandhi statue near the General Post Office to the BJP office on the Vidhan Sabha Marg here.

Police cordoned off the protest area to prevent any skirmishes between Congress and BJP workers and tried to prevent the Congressmen from marching to the BJP office.

There was a skirmish between policemen and Congress leaders after which the latter broke through police barricades and squatted in front of the BJP office.

Police used mild force to disperse the crowd and physically removed Congress workers from the road.