Cracking the whip, Congress on Wednesday removed Margaret Alva from the highest bodies of the party, Working Committee and Election Committee, and accepted her resignation from the General Secretaryship holding her guilty of violating discipline.

The action was taken a day after the 66-year-old leader sent her resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi in the wake of controversy over her charge about sale of party tickets in the Karnataka assembly polls.

"Alva was found guilty of violation of discipline. Howsoever high a person may be in the party hierarchy discipline is vital," Congress spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi said explaining the decision against her.

Suggesting that it was a strong signal against indiscipline, another party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said all party workers and leaders are expected to observer party discipline.

Alva had come under sharp attack from a number of leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Digvijay Singh, Ashok Gehlot and party's media department chairperson M Veerappa Moily. The refrain in the party was that the AICC General Secretary had committed a "gross breach of discipline".

Alva's case was referred to Disciplinary Committee Chairman A K Antony before whom the leader had appeared some days back.

Alva has been sulking for the past few months over the denial of ticket to her son Nivedith and it was compounded when her bete noire R V Deshpande was made the Karnataka PCC chief despite her reservations.

Alva had been incharge of party affairs in several important states, including Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana.