Arjun Modhwadia, a senior Congress MLA and former Gujarat party unit president, resigned from his Assembly membership on Monday.
The MLA from Porbandar submitted his resignation to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary in Gandhinagar.
The Speaker's office confirmed that Chaudhary has accepted Modhwadia's resignation.
Modhwadia was a prominent and powerful opposition figure in Gujarat who emerged victorious in the 2022 elections by defeating Babu Bokhiria, a prominent member of the BJP, in the Porbandar Assembly constituency.
Resignation of the senior leader comes days before Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is to enter Gujarat on March 7.
In a letter addressed to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Modhwadia expressed his disappointment over the party's decision to decline the invitation to the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram temple, saying it had hurt the sentiments of the people of India.
His letter reportedly read, "...Prabhu Ram is not just Pujaniya to Hindus, but he is the Aastha of Bharat. Declining the invitation to witness pran pratishtha mahotsav has hurt the sentiments of the people of India.Congress as a party failed to assess the sentiments of the people...To further distract and humiliate this pious occasion."
"Rahul Gandhi attempted to create ruckus in Assam which further angered our party cadres and citizens of Bharat, " he added in the letter.
With his resignation, the opposition party's strength has reduced to 14 in the 182-member Assembly.
