Disgruntled Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor told the Gujarat High Court Thursday that he could not be disqualified as legislator as he had only resigned from various party posts and not the party.
A division bench of Justices S R Brahmbhatt and A P Thaker was hearing a petition by the Congress seeking a directive to Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi to decide early on its demand to disqualify Thakor as an MLA.
In his reply, Thakor said he had resigned from various posts, such as Congress secretary in-charge of Bihar, but not from the party's primary membership.
The question of disqualification arises only when an elected legislator quits the party itself, he said.
Thakor also said he sent the resignation letter to the party leaders through WhatsApp, which is not a "legal mode of communication". He even challenged the party to produce a physical copy of the resignation letter dated April 10.
In its petition filed Monday, the Congress sought the high court's directive to the speaker to take a call on Thakor's disqualification within three days.
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Thakor, in his reply, said this amounted to "interference in the proceedings" of the Assembly.
Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, appearing for the speaker, too said the court cannot compel him to take a decision in this way.
The question of Thakor's disqualification does not arise as he is neither convicted by any court nor has he resigned from the primary membership of his party, he said.
The hearing will continue on Friday.
In its petition, the Congress said though it approached Speaker Trivedi seeking to expel Thakor as an MLA on April 25, the former had not taken any decision on it yet.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Thakor resigned from all the posts he held in the Congress on April 10, claiming he and his Thakor community were insulted by the party.