New Delhi: Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who resigned from Congress on May 16, said on Wednesday (May 25) that he will work towards forging an Opposition alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government. Backed by the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), Sibal filed nomination papers today for the Rajya Sabha elections as an independent candidate in Lucknow. He told ANI, "I will not say anything about Congress. I have resigned. So it is not appropriate for me to say anything about Congress. It is not easy to leave a relationship of 30-31 years. In the past, only a few came to House by getting elected independently, especially in Rajya Sabha. I have got a big opportunity and it has been given to me by Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav, Azam Khan. I will raise the issues of the country in the House."


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Sibal said he will work towards highlighting the flaws of the Modi government ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "I had tendered my resignation from the Congress party on May 16. 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 government. We want the flaws of the Modi government to be known to the people in 2024. I will put my efforts for that," he said. 


Sibal was among one of the G23 members, a group of dissenters in Congress that had sought an organisational overhaul. The senior lawyer’s tenure as Congress' Rajya Sabha MP will end in July. "I have filed the nomination as an Independent candidate. I thank Akhileshji for supporting me," he told the reporters, adding that he is no longer a senior Congress leader.


Without elaborating on his exit from the Congress, which is seen as a big jolt for the party, Sibal said, "I had a deep relation with the Congress. It was for 30-31 years. This is not a small thing. I joined the Congress because of Rajivji (former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi). You must be thinking, how one can go from the Congress after 31 years. There must be something (for leaving the party).. That my heart is facing. Sometimes such decisions are to be taken."


Sibal said his ideology is related to that of the Congress and he is not far away from the grand old party. The top lawyer is among the prominent faces that left Sonia Gandhi-led Congress this year. A few days back in a major setback, senior Punjab politician Sunil Jakhar and Gujarat leader Hardik Patel resigned from the party. 


(With agency inputs)