Congress accuses BJP of vandalising party office in Patna, Rahul Gandhi slams violence

The Congress on Friday accused the BJP of "attacking" and "vandalising" its office here with former party chief Rahul Gandhi asserting that falsehood and violence cannot stand before truth and non-violence.

Gandhi asserted that the Congress will continue to protect truth and the Constitution.

"Falsehood and violence cannot stand before truth and non-violence. Beat and break as much as you want -- we will continue to protect truth and the Constitution. Satyameva Jayate," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post in Hindi.

His remarks came after workers of the BJP and the Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march taken out by the ruling party in protest against the alleged use of abusive language for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.

Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal accused the BJP of "attacking" and "vandalising" the Sadaqat Ashram headquarters of the grand old party.

"Baffled by the soaring popularity of the Voter Adhikar Yatra and the groundswell of public sentiment against them, the BJP has once again unleashed its hooligans to intimidate and scare us," Venugopal said in a post on X.

"The attack on our Bihar PCC Office Sadaqat Ashram in Patna, led by a sitting cabinet minister and other BJP leaders, is an act of cowardice and will not deter us from continuing to expose the massive Vote Chori being carried out in the name of SIR," he said.

The BJP has sensed its imminent downfall and the growing anger of the people in Bihar, and its desperation knows no limits, the Congress general secretary said.

"Attacking a party office is the worst form of political hooliganism and can never be pardoned. Such violence has no place in a democracy, and the BJP’s vandalism of this scale exposes its true character," he said.

"This must be condemned and protested against by all those who believe in democracy, and we call upon every citizen to rise in united protest against this brazen act," Venugopal said.

The Bihar Police must take strict and exemplary action against the perpetrators of this crime, and arrest the ministers and leaders who led this "hooliganism", he said.

A row erupted after a purported video showed a person using a Hindi expletive against Modi from a dais raised during the yatra in Darbhanga town, from where Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Vadra and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had left for Muzaffarpur on motorcycles on Wednesday.