Ahmedabad, June 24 (IANS) The Gujarat High Court on Monday issued notices to state Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi following a writ petition filed by the Congress seeking a directive to Trivedi to disqualify MLA Alpesh Thakore, who quit the party, but not as a legislator.
Admitting the petition, moved by the Congress chief whip in the Gujarat Assembly Ashwin Kotwal, a division bench of Justice S.R. Brahmbhatt and A.P. Thaker also issued notices to Thakore.
The next hearing is due on Thursday.
The opposition party stated in the petition that they were compelled to approach the high court after their application to the Speaker in April this year to disqualify the legislator yielded no result. The party also sought a direction that till Trivedi acted in the case, Thakore should be restrained from exercising his rights as a legislator.
The maverick MLA and OBC leader had resigned from all Congress posts, including his primary membership, on April 10 but continued as an MLA.
The Gujarat Congress leaders had on April 25 called on the Speaker seeking Thakore’s expulsion, pointing out that he was no longer with the party and that he was also indulging in anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha elections.
Thakore, who had joined the Congress ahead of the assembly elections in 2017, was elected from Radhanpur in north Gujarat on the party ticket.
–IANS
desai/prs