‘We are on same page’: Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi put up united front amid rift rumours
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘We are on same page’: Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi put up united front amid rift rumours")
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor missed an AICC meeting on preparations for the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls. Photograph: (PTI)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s ties with the party took a dive after the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year when he appreciated the Prime Minister’s handling of the crisis, inviting sharp reactions from Congress leaders targeting the Lok Sabha MP from their own party.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday amid rumours of a rift between him and the party leadership. After the crucial meeting, Tharoor asserted that “all is good” and that he was on the “same page” with the Congress leadership. The meeting was held in Kharge’s chamber in the Parliament House complex and lasted for 90 minutes. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal was also present during the meeting.
“We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion,” Tharoor wrote in a post on X.
“All is good and we are moving together on the same page, what more can I say,” he added.
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Tharoor had acknowledged ‘issues’ to be discussed with party leaders
The meeting came after speculations of a rift between the party high command after Tharoor after the latter missed an All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting on preparations for the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls.
The meeting took place after Tharoor had acknowledged the “issues” that were due to be discussed with the party leaders.
Earlier, when Tharoor was asked about his decision to attend the Kerala literature festival instead of attending the Kerala poll-related meeting, he had said, “Whatever issues there are, I would have to discuss them with the party leadership, and I look forward to the opportunity to do so. I’m not entering into this issue in public at all.”
While speaking at the Kerala literature festival, Tharoor affirmed his stance, saying he hadn’t violated the party’s position and remains unapologetic about his statement on Operation Sindoor.
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“I have at no stage violated any of the Congress’ positions in Parliament,” he said.
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Tharoor’s praise for PM initiated differences
Tharoor’s ties with the Congress took a dive after the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year when he appreciated the Prime Minister’s handling of the crisis, inviting sharp reactions from Congress leaders targeting Tharoor.
Things turned worse when the BJP asked Tharoor to lead a cross-party delegation to brief friendly countries about the Pahalgam attack and India’s response.
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In June last year, he said, “It (praise for the Prime Minister) is not a sign of my leaping to join his party... as some people have, unfortunately, been implying. It is a statement of national unity...”
The rift has been growing steadily since mid-2022, when he was part of a group of Congress leaders that wrote to then-boss Sonia Gandhi asking for a change in leadership after a series of election defeats, starting with a drubbing in the 2019 federal poll.
Tharoor contested the election for the Congress President post but lost to Gandhi loyalist Mallikarjun Kharge.
