All is good, we're on same page: Tharoor after meeting Kharge, Rahul Gandhi

The Lok Sabha MP said he had a "good, constructive and positive discussion" with the top Congress leadership after the meeting at Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in the Parliament House.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi at Kharge's chamber in the Parliament House.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi at Kharge's chamber in the Parliament House. Photo| X/ @ShashiTharoor
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Amid speculations of Shahi Tharoor's rift with the top Congress leadership, the Lok Sabha MP on Thursday said "all is good" after he met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi at the former's chamber in the Parliament House.

"We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion," Tharoor said.

"All is good and we are moving together on the same page, what more can I say," he told reporters in Parliament premises after the meeting.

Tharoor said he was satisfied with the meeting, which, according to PTI, lasted for over an hour.

Responding to a question on whether the issue of chief ministerial face for Kerala polls was discussed, Tharoor said, "I am not interested in being the candidate for anything. At the moment I am already an MP, I have the trust of my voters from Thiruvananthapuram. I have their interest to look after in Parliament, that is my job."

Last week, Tharoor had skipped a key strategy meeting of the party for the upcoming Kerala polls as he was believed to be upset over Rahul Gandhi not properly acknowledging his presence at a recent event and repeated attempts by state leaders to "sideline" him.

Sources close to him had then said that while a series of events had led to Tharoor's disappointment with the treatment meted out to him, the tipping point was Gandhi not acknowledging him at the 'Maha Panchayath' held in Kochi on January 19 to felicitate the local body poll winners.

Gandhi acknowledged other senior leaders present on the stage and took their names but did not mention Tharoor, a four-time MP and one of the three Congress Working Committee (CWC) members from the state, who was also on the dais, the sources said.

A row had erupted last year over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack.

His comments were at variance with the Congress' stand and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions.

Tharoor has, however, maintained that there is no variance in stance on foreign policy and there must be bipartisanship.

Kharge on Friday chaired a key meeting of the party here with Kerala leaders to fine-tune the party strategy for the assembly polls.

(With inputs from PTI)

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