Leaders joining us is not taken note of, says Congress on Sibal's exit

The Congress on Wednesday sought to put up a brave face after senior leader and former Union minister Kapil Sibal quit the party, saying its space is large in the national polity and many leaders joining the grand old party in various states is not being taken note of.

Al India Congress Committee general secretary KC Venugopal said eight former MLAs joined the party in Haryana two days ago, and lamented that such fresh developments were not getting prominence.

He was responding to PTI's query on the continuing trend of leaders leaving the national party even after the Chintan Shivir held in Rajasthan recently.

Venugopal said Sibal, who filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha as an independent supported by the Samajwadi Party from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, has not said anything against the Congress ideology in his resignation letter.

He declined to comment when asked whether Sibal left the party eyeing only a Rajya Sabha seat as the Congress has no seats in its kitty to accommodate the senior leader.

The Congress leader, however, refused to comment on other queries like the implications for the party following Sibal's resignation.

Earlier, talking to reporters in Kochi on the fresh exit, Venugopal said, "The space of the Congress is very broad".

Venugopal said there will be a complete revamp of the party very soon, as more young faces would be inducted in line with the decisions arrived at during the party's conclave.

He said the Congress will continue to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party government, "which has unleashed central agencies including Enforce Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence Bureau after their opponents to eliminate them politically".

"There may be setbacks. We will take lessons from them and we will overcome," Venugopal said, and asserted that the Congress is the one and only party which is capable of taking on the BJP at the national level.

Announcing that he had resigned from the Congress last week, Sibal on Wednesday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha as an independent supported by the Samajwadi Party.