Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday met Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament, brushing aside speculation of a rift within the party and calling the interaction routine.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi ahead of the meeting, Tharoor played down the chatter. “I am going to attend Parliament right now. When it happens, I will let you know. What is so unusual about meeting my own party leader?” he said.
According to reports, the meeting in Kharge’s chamber in the Parliament House complex lasted for over an hour, with Tharoor holding discussions with both Gandhi and Kharge as the new Parliament session began on Wednesday. Sources told news agency PTI that Congress general secretary KC Venugopal also attended the meeting.
The interaction came against the backdrop of reports suggesting unease between the Thiruvananthapuram MP and sections of the Congress leadership. Tharoor has said he intends to speak ‘directly’ to the party leadership during the session to place his views on record.
Rumours about Tharoor possibly exploring options outside the Congress surfaced after reports claimed he felt sidelined by state leaders and was unhappy over Rahul Gandhi allegedly not acknowledging him at a recent event in Kochi.
Yesterday, Tharoor acknowledged that he has ‘issues’ with the party but insisted he has never deviated from the organisation’s stated positions in Parliament. He underlined that internal differences should be discussed within the party, not in public.
“All I can say is that there are issues which I need to take up with my own party leadership and not in a public forum. I will be going to Delhi for Parliament and get an opportunity to make my concerns very clear and hear their viewpoint,” he said.
Tharoor, a Congress leader for 17 years, also told PTI, “Let’s not go too far. Whatever has gone wrong needs to be addressed, and it will be addressed in the appropriate forum”.
Separately, speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival, Tharoor defended his stance on “Operation Sindoor”, saying he remained ‘unapologetic’. He recalled writing a column after the Pahalgam terror attack arguing that it should not go unpunished and required a kinetic response.
