Thiruvananthapuram |The fresh income tax demand of over Rs 1,800 crore from the Congress party amounts to "hanging democracy by the gallows", the Kerala unit of the grand old party said on Friday.

The Congress party in Kerala on Friday announced that a sit-in protest will be held on Saturday before the Income Tax Department offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, protesting against the IT notice to pay penalty.

KPCC Acting President M M Hassan said the thousands of Congress workers and leaders will take part in the protest against the "heinous" acts of the Narendra Modi government.

"The fresh action against opposition parties amounts to hanging democracy by the gallows," Hassan said.

The senior Congress leader said that already the IT Department has "taken" Rs 135 crore from the accounts of the Congress party.

"The government has already frozen the accounts of the Congress party and its affiliated organisations. Such moves are not even heard of under authoritarian regimes," Hassan said.

The Congress has said that it has received fresh notices from the income-tax department, asking it to pay Rs 1,823.08 crore.

The party has asked all Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) to hold massive public demonstrations in the state and district headquarters in their respective states on Saturday and Sunday, with the participation of senior leaders and party functionaries