Sanjay Jha on Tuesday was suspended from the Indian National Congress with immediate effect "for anti-party activities and breach of discipline".

The order was issued by Maharashtra Congress and signed by the state unit chief Balasaheb Thorat, and the announcement was made on the INC Maharashtra Twitter handle.

"Nothing surprises me. What are the anti-party activities I indulged in? The least the Congress could have done was to approach me," Jha replied to the suspension and added, "We are showing an extremely intolerant culture".  Jha claimed he was neither consulted nor spoken to before the suspension.

Jha's suspension came on a day when the party removed Sachin Pilot from the post of Rajasthan deputy chief minister and Congress state unit president after his revolt against the Ashok Gehlot-led government.

Earlier this month, Jha had resigned as president of the Maharashtra unit of the All India Professionals Congress (AIPC). Last month, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had removed Jha as a party spokesperson days after he wrote a newspaper article critical of the party.