" I had tendered my resignation from the Congress party on 16 May," said Kapil Sibal after filing his nomination."
“It is important to be an independent voice. While staying in Opposition we want to create an alliance so that we can oppose the Modi govt," Kapil Sibal further said.
Kapil Sibal, a prominent face of the G-23 group of the dissenting leaders, has resigned from the party and filed nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections as an independent on Wednesday in Lucknow backed by the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Sibal filed his nomination papers from Uttar Pradesh in the presence of the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and other party leaders in Lucknow. Sibal is retiring from the Rajya Sabha on July 4.
Sibal, whose tenure as Congress Rajya Sabha member ends in July, went to the Uttar Pradesh assembly premises with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and other senior leaders to file his papers.
"I have filed the nomination as an Independent candidate. I thank Akhileshji for supporting me," Sibal told reporters.
Yadav later said Sibal is being supported by the Samajwadi Party. Sibal has been vocal in his criticism of the Congress leadership and had called for a non-Gandhi as the new party chief.
"We are all constrained by fact that we are members of parties and have to abide by the discipline of that party but it is important to have an independent voice," the former Union minister said while filing his nomination papers.
"We want to make a coalition and oppose the Modi government. We want to create an atmosphere in which we can oppose the BJP. I will personally work towards that," he said.
Sibal's resignation comes close on the heels of Sunil Jakhar and Hardik Patel resigning from the Congress, which recently held a 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur.
