It was time..., says Kapil Sibal as he dumps Congress

Soon after announcing his resignation from the Congress, Kapil Sibal said it was time to quit the party.

Kapil Sibal, a Congress heavyweight and a member of the group of G-23 leaders who sought organisational reforms in the party, resigned from the Congress and filed a Rajya Sabha nomination with the backing of the Samajwadi Party. In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, he said, "After 30 years, it was time to quit and work as an Independent candidate. I would not speak against Congress at any point. I have a good relationship with many opposition leaders. My wife says we have a connection with Uttar Pradesh."

He also said there are no conditions with the Samajwadi Party on whose backing he filed the Rajya Sabha nomination. He said, "I told Akhilesh ji that I wanted to go to the Rajya Sabha and to support me as an Independent candidate."

The senior Congress leader resigned on May 16. A part of the G-23 leaders, Kapil Sibal has been vocal about his grievances within the party.

A prominent member of the G23, which had sought an organisational overhaul in the Congress, Sibal's tenure as Congress' Rajya Sabha MP ends in July.

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.