'What's so unusual?' Shashi Tharoor on meeting Rahul Gandhi
What's the story
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. The meeting took place in Kharge's chamber in the Parliament House complex and comes amid speculation of a rift between Tharoor and the party high command. It reportedly lasted over an hour. It was attended by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal as well.
Social media post
Tharoor shares positive meeting update on X
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Tharoor played off the matter. "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. He also took to X to share a picture from the meeting. He added that they are "all on the same page as we move forward in the service of the people of India."
Internal matters
Tharoor admits to 'issues' with Congress
Last week, Tharoor admitted to having "issues" with the party but stressed that he has always been in line with the party's official positions in Parliament. He said, "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." "Whatever has gone wrong, needs to be addressed and it will be addressed in an appropriate forum," he told PTI.
Meetings
Tharoor skipped 2 meetings
Tharoor's decision to skip two party meetings fueled the fire. Tharoor was in Kozhikode for a literature festival at the first meeting, which was an important brainstorming session for the upcoming Kerala elections. He was absent from a second party meeting on Tuesday. This time, he did not attend the Congress's parliamentary strategy group meeting before the budget session. According to PTI sources, Tharoor was unable to attend the meeting since he was returning from a literature festival in Dubai.