Guwahati, Mar 26 (IANS): The Congress in Assam on Sunday staged a protest here over the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha. At least 11 political parties and some noted intellectuals of the state took part in the protest.

Assam unit Congress president Bhupen Borah extended his thanks to the political parties for their participation in the protest.

"I appreciate all of the opposition parties' contributions to our 'Satyagraha movement' to defend our democracy and the Constitution.

"The BJP is so afraid that they refused to give us permission to stage Satyagraha at Gandhi Mandap. This has never occurred in Assam before," he said.

Borah added "this battle is for preserving democracy".

"This fight will continue to save our democracy. It is not a war for Rahul Gandhi. Our democracy has been murdered. The BJP's objective is to suppress dissent, silence anyone who raises concerns about (business tycoon) Gautam Adani, and plunder the nation's resources," he said.

Borah further said that in each block of Assam, the Congress would hold a massive public outreach programme against the "misrule of the Bharatiya Janata Party".

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha a day after his conviction in a defamation case by a Gujarat court.

The Congress has organised protests across the country on this matter.