The Opposition BJP on Wednesday demanded the expulsion of Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh from his party, in wake of the Bombay High court’s directive to the Mumbai police to prosecute him in a disproportionate assets’ case.

Describing the High Court’s order a “sensational slap” on not just Singh, but also on the State Government and the Congress High Command, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council, Vinod Tawde of the BJP, said:“Mere acceptance of Singh’s resignation will not do. The Congress should expel him from the party, as it did with Suresh Kalmadi following his arrest in the CWG scam.”

Meanwhile, the Congress High Command’s belated acceptance of Singh’s resignation came as a surprise and created a wrong impression in State political circles that he had resigned after the High Court’s order and not in the wake of the party's debacle in the Birhanmumbai Municipal Corporation poll.

Embarrassed over registration of an FIR against Singh on Wednesday under the Prevention of Corruption Act as per the direction of the Bombay High Court, the Congress clarified that the resignation was received on the same day the civic poll results came. His successor is to be appointed soon.

“Singh had resigned owning moral responsibility for a poor show in the BMC polls and the party has decided to accept it,” AICC in-charge of Maharashtra Mohan Prakash said. According to sources, in the evening of the Mumbai poll results, Singh was directed to send a report about the reasons for the party’s poor performance and also directed to own his moral responsibility. Singh immediately sent the report in which he had attributed the poll debacle to infighting and non-cooperation from some party leaders. Prakash met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday and briefed her the entire issue.

and the party leadership decided to accept Singh’s resignation. His possible successor was also reportedly discussed and it was decided to bring in a new face, sources said.

The party’s wrath is not likely to remain confined to just Singh as the possibility of action against some other leaders also was not ruled out for poor performance of the Congress.

But the party has ruled out any action against Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who had supported entering into an alliance with the NCP and had widely canvassed in the Mumbai civic polls pitching it as a UPA vs NDA contest.