The Congress on Wednesday played down the significance of veteran leader Kapil Sibal quitting the party - after an association of over 30 years - and said 'people come and go from our party'. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal indicated to reporters no blame would be attached to Kapil Sibal for leaving and that the party is in the process of being 'completely rebuilt' after an intense three-day Chintan Shivir in Rajasthan this month to introspect on poll defeats.
"He had already written a letter to party president (Sonia Gandhi). The letter says he firmly believed in the values of Congress… he said nothing else. Let him state his position… then I can say. People come and go from our party. This is a big party. Some may be leaving… going to other parties. I am not going to blame anybody who left the party. Congress has a vast space," Venugopal said.
Sibal files RS nomination with Samajwadi Party support, says quit Cong May 16
"The party will be completely rebuilt. It intends to go with a comprehensive re-organisation… Each person will have a task," he said.
Earlier today Sibal - a member of the G23, the group of senior Congress leaders who have been vocal about the need for structural change in the party - filed nomination papers for next month's Rajya Sabha election as an independent candidate with support from Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier today Sibal - a member of the G23, the group of senior Congress leaders who have been vocal about the need for structural change in the party - filed nomination papers for next month's Rajya Sabha election as an independent candidate with support from Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.
{{/usCountry}}Sibal - who represents Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha and whose term ends in July - also said he had 'tendered (his) resignation' from the Congress on May 16.
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"I was a Congress leader. But not anymore... I had resigned from the Congress on May 16. I'll not say anything about Congress… not appropriate for me… I have filed nomination as an independent candidate… I am thankful to Akhilesh Yadavji..." Sibal told reporters after filing his papers.
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However, when asked if this meant he would join the Samajwadi Party, Sibal said no. "I can't. As an independent candidate, if you join a party, you will be disqualified under the Tenth Schedule. So no question of joining any party. That has been my public statement," he told Hindustan Times exclusively.
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Sibal also told Hindustan Times talk of a position with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress - which has been aggressively casting itself as a platform for non-BJP parties to unite ahead of the 2024 general election - was untrue.
Sibal is the fifth high-profile leader to quit the Congress in 2022 alone and his exit comes just days after the former chief of the party's Punjab unit, Sunil Jakhar, and the working president of the Gujarat unit, Hardik Patel, both quit, blaming central leadership as they did so.
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With input from ANI