Congress MP Shashi Tharoor admits to having “differences” with the party, adding that the “issues” should be communicated/discussed internally, not publicly. The statement of the MP came at a time when there is a whisper that Tharoor is upset over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not adequately acknowledging his presence at a recent event in Kochi and over the alleged repeated “ignoring” behaviour of the party’s state leaders, trying to sideline him.
"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 I will get an opportunity, I believe, to make my concerns very clear to the party leadership and get their viewpoint…have a proper conversation."
"I have been in Congress for the past 17 years. Let's not go too far…as far as I am concerned, whatever has gone wrong needs to be addressed, and it will be addressed in an appropriate forum," he cited.
On being questioned about the rumours spreading about him, he said, ‘some of them could be true, some are false’.
As per Tharoor’s statement, he had informed the party leadership of his unavailability to attend a party meeting, explaining that he wanted to attend a literature festival and that continuous travel was difficult.
"However, I will certainly attend all party activities in Parliament, and at that time I can meet the party leadership," he said.
Tharoor, while speaking during a Q&A session at the Kerala Literature Festival on Saturday, said that the ‘only public disagreement in principle had with the Congress was on ‘operation Sindoor’, adding that he had never violated the grand old party’s positions in the Parliament, and that he remains “unapologetic” as he had taken a strong stand on the issue.
Explaining his position, Tharoor said that, as an observer and writer, he had written a newspaper column after the Pahalgam terror attack, stating that it should not go unpunished and that there should be a kinetic response from India to the terrorists. He said that while India is focused on development, it should not be dragged into a prolonged conflict with Pakistan, and that any action should be limited to targeting terrorist camps.
Tharoor said that to his surprise, the Indian government did exactly what he had recommended.
He then said it was Jawaharlal Nehru who posed the famous question: "Who lives if India dies? When India is at stake, when India’s security and its place in the world are involved, India comes first.”
The political parties may have differences as part of the process of building a better India, but when national interests are involved, India must prevail, said the Congress MP.
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