Gandhinagar: Veteran Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela on Friday resigned from the grand old party while asserting that he would not join any other political party.

"I am freeing myself of the Congress and every other party. I am not going to join any political party. I will quit as Leader of Opposition today. I will quit as MLA in the next sitting," he told supporters at his 77th birthday celebrations in Gandhinagar.

"I have resigned as Leader of Opposition. I will resign as Congress MLA after the Rajya Sabha election. I am not a bonded labourer in any party, I am a free bird now," Vaghela said at the mega gathering of his supporters in Gandhinagar.

Vaghela had made the the startling revelation that the Congress had "expelled" him preemptively out of fear that he might say something untoward during his birthday celebrations on July 21.

"Congress has expelled me 24 hours before. They don't know what I was going to say," Vaghela said right at the beginning of his address.

He, however, asserted that he has no plans to retire from politics at the moment, fueling speculation that he may return to the BJP, which he quit a little under twenty years ago. However, he put these rumours to rest by stating unequivocally that he has no plans to join the BJP.

Vaghela was a BJP rebel who had merged his Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) with the Congress 17 years ago. After his abrupt dismissal from the party, he went on the offensive and said those who are honest and fighting for the public should not make compromises.

"People, who are complaining today, should have made good strategy then so that BJP must not have come to the power. But their (the Congress') small thinking and BJP's luck gave the power to BJP," Vaghela railed.

Vaghela said he is "77 not out and believes in destiny".

At the same time, he didn't shy away from stating some bitter truths.

"The party which I built (BJP) with my blood breached my trust, made me a stranger:... I have been a victim of party's internal politics in both BJP and Congress," he said.

Vaghela is miffed with the Congress, which turned down his demand that he be declared the face of the party's campaign and the CM candidate in the assembly polls.

Reactions poured in immediately, with the Congress claiming that the party had not sacked Vaghela.