Dehradun, Dec 20 (PTI) The Congress staged statewide protests on Thursday, a day after BJP workers allegedly barged into the opposition party's state headquarters and clashed with its workers over the Rafale issue.

Congress workers protested at all district headquarters, shouting slogans and burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.          

Led by state Congress chief Pritam Singh, the protesters marched from the party office in Dehradun to Astley Hall Chawk.           

Shouting slogans against the BJP governments in the state and at the Centre, they said vandalism by the saffron party cannot throttle the Congress' voice on the Rafale issue.            

Minutes before Congress leader Kumari Selja was to address a press conference over the Rafale deal at the party office here on Wednesday, BJP workers allegedly stormed its precincts and started tearing off the posters and banners leading to a clash with Congress workers.              

The BJP workers even clashed with police personnel when they tried to stop them, Singh alleged.          

The trouble began when BJP workers, who had gathered at Astley Hall to burn an effigy of Rahul Gandhi for "misleading" the nation over the Rafale issue, broke the barricades and marched towards the Congress Bhawan located nearby, ADG (law and order) Ashok Kumar said.            

According to a complaint filed with police by Congress leaders, the vandalism by BJP workers at the party office was meant to disrupt a press conference by Selja on the Rafale deal.             

The DIG has been asked to look into the allegations made by the Congress, the ADG said.        

The BJP workers alleged Gandhi was spreading lies on the Rafale issue even though the Supreme Court had found nothing wrong in the deal.              

"Despite the chinks in his own armour, Rahul Gandhi has used unparliamentary language against the prime minister calling him a thief and lowering the dignity of the top office," BJP Mahanagar president Vinay Goel said.          

Asked about the vandalism at the Congress office, Goel said the BJP workers were protesting peacefully.        

Condemning the incident, Singh said it reflected the frustration prevailing in the BJP ranks over the party's electoral loss in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.          

"Vandalism by the BJP cannot throttle the Congress' voice of protest on the Rafale deal," Singh said.

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