mumbai:
Congress leaders at the mega-opposition meeting in Mumbai – the INDIA Conclave – were irate after the unexpected arrival of ex-leader Kapil Sibal, sources told NDTV on Friday morning. Mr Sibal, who left the party last year because he “didn’t want to hold any party”, was not an official invitee and his presence has upset ex-colleagues, sources say.
Senior congress leader KC Venugopal has complained to ex-Maharashtra minister Uddhav Thackeray about Mr Sibal’s presence before a photo of opposition leaders. Mr. Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT is hosting the meeting of the INDIA bloc.
Other senior leaders – Farooq Abdullah, the boss of the National Conference, and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party tried to intervene and convince Mr. Venugopal to accept Mr. unite the opposition ahead of next year’s elections. Significantly, Congressman Rahul Gandhi said he had no objections, sources told NDTV.
Eventually, Mr. Sibal – who is now an independent Rajya Sabha MP – also became part of the picture.
A 20-second video shared by PTI news agency on X (formerly Twitter) showed President Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party warmly welcoming Mr. Sibal – while a voice off-camera screamed “security”.
The video also shows Mr Thackeray and Shiv Sena UBT troubleshooter Sanjay Raut talking earnestly with a man who appears to be Mr Venugopal. Mr. Raut is deep in conversation and occasionally points to Mr. Sibal (now off-camera).
In other footage from the meeting, Mr Sibal can also be seen talking to the Punjab chief minister and Aam Aadmi party leader Bhagwant Mann.
Images of Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, NCP Working President Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) Leader Sanjay Raut at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai ahead of the INDIA Alliance meeting. pic.twitter.com/vNIZshXMlz
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 1, 2023
Major decisions likely at INDIA Block meeting
After meetings in Patna and Bengaluru, the (now) 28-party INDIA group this week began its three-day meeting in Mumbai where they are expected to develop a plan to fight Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party.
READ | Important decisions likely to take place today at the third meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai: 10 facts
Other important decisions that may be announced include the new group’s logo, the appointment of spokespersons and sub-groups that will govern various departments. There has also been talk of a common minimum program and speculation about who the prime ministerial face of the alliance could be.
Flashback: When Kapil Sibal left Congress
Mr. Sibal, a former union minister, left Congress on May 16 last year, a day after the party’s “Chintan Shivir,” or brainstorming meeting, to discuss resurgence efforts after landslide electoral defeats and a series of internal crises.
The latter included concerns Mr. Sibal had raised as part of the “G-23,” a group of 23 dissenters who had called for sweeping changes in Congress. In the months leading up to his departure, Mr Sibal said that “the leadership (the Gandhis) are in cuckoo country”.
READ | “Everyone should think of themselves”: Kapil Sibal on leaving Congress
“It’s always difficult when you’ve been in a party for so long and stuck with its ideology. Every person has to think for himself… it’s time for him to do something different.” he then told NDTV.