National Desk: Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal stated on Wednesday that he had quit the Congress party on May 16.
Even though he did not join any other party officially, Sibal filed his nomination for the Upper House with the backing of the Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party.
Sibal went to submit his nomination papers as an independent candidate from Uttar Pradesh where he was also accompanied by Yadav and other leaders of the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow.
While speaking to the press, Sibal reportedly revealed that he is not a member of the grand old party anymore and it was difficult for him to take the decision after being its member for over 30 years.
By thanking the Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav, Azam Khan and Ram Gopal Yadav for their support, Sibal said that he wishes to represent Uttar Pradesh as an independent voice in the parliament.
Sibal revealed about his decision to quit the party soon after the national level meeting of Congress titled Chintan Shivar which was held last month in Udaipur and the very next day after the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi constituted a political affairs committee and an eight member sub-penal of the Congress Working Committee where Sibal’s name has been omitted.
It is said that Kapil Sibal shares a very cordial relationship with the leaders of the Samajwadi Party. As a lawyer by profession, he also represented its leader Azam Khan in a court battle and helped him secure a bail recently.
His resignation form the Congress is regarded as another high-profile exit from the party. In the recent years, Sibal had been vocal in vouching for a non- Gandhi chief and reforms within the the grand old party. He was also one of the members of the G-23 group comprising the dissident party leaders of the Congress.