One of the senior-most leaders Kapil Sibal quits Congress, and joins Samajwadi Party; Akhilesh Yadav backs him for the Rajya Sabha.
Kapil Sibal, one of the senior-most leaders in the Congress, had been part of the 23 dissenters who had called for a complete overhaul of the party’s leadership and organization has quit Congress. Kapil Sibal recently met with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.
Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal today revealed that he has resigned from the Congress, stunning everyone after filing his nomination as the Samajwadi Party’s candidate for Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. “I had resigned from the Congress party on May 16,” Kapil Sibal told reporters.
“It is important to be an independent voice in parliament. If an independent voice speaks up then people will believe it is not from any political party,” Mr. Sibal said.
Mr. Sibal, one of the senior-most leaders in the Congress, had been part of the “G-23” group of 23 dissenters who had called for a complete overhaul of the party’s leadership and organization. He had also been vocal about his criticism of the Gandhis’ leadership in recent weeks.
Kapil Sibal had represented senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in the Supreme Court. Azam Khan was released on interim bail by the Supreme Court after two years in prison.
The Rajya Sabha elections next month will include 11 Uttar Pradesh seats.
Kapil Sibal (born 8 August 1948) is an Indian lawyer and politician. A celebrated professional in law, Sibal has represented in high-profile cases numerous times before the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the top-most lawyers in India. He quits Congress party after 30 years.
One more wicket falls for Congress, but perhaps, it is no big surprise and everyone knew it was coming, with his vocal criticism of the Gandhis. The G-23 leaders, who have been calling for total changes in the grand old party for quite some years after Congress lost two major elections in India and are disappointed that nothing seems to be changing on the ground.