Malappuram (Kerala) | Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Friday said it was astonishing that Congress party's main bank accounts were frozen, but the BJP's Rs 6,500 crore account was untouched.

Satheesan termed the move against his party's accounts as "an attempt to destroy the Congress".

"This fascist regime is showing that it will not hesitate to do anything in this country," he remarked.

The Congress leader also claimed that the BJP was trying to harass members of the INDIA alliance in various states.

"The Centre is trying to break up the INDIA alliance by using influence, money and central agencies," he alleged.

Congress's bank accounts being frozen are a part of this effort by the BJP, Satheesan said.

"It is against democracy," he said, adding, "Therefore, this fascist and communal party should not come back to power a third time. To ensure that, everyone has to fight together."

Earlier in the day, the Congress's main bank accounts were frozen over an income tax demand of Rs 210 crore but an I-T appellate tribunal later allowed it to operate them. It came as a massive relief to the party which said that the move had impacted all its political activity.

The accounts, including that of the Indian Youth Congress, were frozen on an Income Tax demand of Rs 210 crore for 2018-19, an election year, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said.