Kapil Sibbal’s entry into I.N.D.I.A conclave miffs former colleagues

Congress leaders were miffed after the entry of Kapil Sibbal into the two-day Mumbai conclave, sources said. Sibal, who quit the party last year because he wanted to “not hang on coattails of any party”, was not an official invitee and his presence upset ex-colleagues, sources added. Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal complained about Sibal’s presence to ex-Maharashtra minister Uddhav Thackeray before a photo op of opposition leaders. Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT is hosting the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting. Other senior leaders – National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav tried to intervene, persuading Venugopal to accept Sibal’s presence at a meeting that aims at uniting all opposition politicians ahead of next year’s election.