New Delhi/Lucknow: Senior leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said he had quit the Congress on 16 May as he filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha as an Independent candidate backed by the Samajwadi Party (SP).
“I was a Congress leader but no longer,” Sibal said while filing his nomination in Lucknow in the presence of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. “We are all coming together for 2024,” he added.
Sibal has not officially confirmed joining the SP and, at present, remains without any party affiliation.
Reacting to Sibal’s announcement, the Congress hoped he “finds peace in his new party”.
‘We will expose the central government’
Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Sibal thanked Akhilesh Yadav for backing his Rajya Sabha nomination.
“We will expose the central government. We will all, together, keep everything before the public,” he said.
Sibal, a member of the dissident G-23 group in the Congress, had a public falling out with the leadership after the results of the recent assembly elections in five states. In an interview after the results, Sibal had said that the Gandhis “should step aside” from the leadership of the party.
After Sibal’s statement, the rest of the G-23 group distanced themselves from him though they held negotiations with the party leadership to push for certain organisational changes.
Speaking to ThePrint, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, in a brief response, said: “All the best to him. I hope he finds peace in his new party.”
ThePrint has learnt from sources in the party that Sibal did not renew his membership in the Congress’ recently-concluded membership drive that ended on 15 May. He said he quit the party on 16 May.
Also read: Gandhi siblings, their loyalists & some G-23 ‘rebels’ in 3 new Congress panels set up for 2024
Source: The Print
