Cong moves Gujarat HC, seeks expulsion of its MLA Alpesh Thakor

The Gujarat High Court on Monday admitted a petition of the state Congress seeking a directive to Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi to take an early decision on its demand to expel Alpesh Thakor as an MLA.

After admitting the petition filed by Congress chief whip in the Assembly Ashwin Kotwal, a division bench of Justices SR Brahmbhatt and AP Thaker issued notices to Trivedi and Thakor, and kept further hearing on June 27.

In the petition, the Congress also demanded that till the Speaker takes a final call, Thakor must not be allowed to exercise his rights as a legislator.

The petition stated that though the Congress, through an application in April, had urged Trivedi to expel Thakor as an MLA, no decision has been taken yet by the speaker, which compelled the party to approach the High Court.

On April 25, Gujarat Congress leaders led by Kotwal had approached Trivedi seeking expulsion of Thakor as a legislator claiming that he was no longer with the party and that he was involved in "anti-party activities" during the Lok Sabha polls.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Thakor had resigned on April 10 from all the posts he held in the Congress, claiming he and his Thakor community were insulted and betrayed by the party.

Thakor was Congress secretary in charge of Bihar and was a member of all key party committees for the Lok Sabha polls.

Though Thakor had not mentioned specifically that he was resigning as an MLA or from the primary membership of the party, Kotwal maintained that "resignation from all the posts" also include primary membership and as an MLA.

Thakor, a prominent OBC leader, was elected from Radhanpur on a Congress ticket in 2017 Assembly polls.