Shashi Tharoor flags 'issues' with Congress, demands 'internal discussion'

Amid rift rumours with Rahul Gandhi, Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor acknowledged having some 'issues' with the Congress party. He emphasised that these concerns would be discussed with the party's top leadership, stressing that such matters should be addressed internally rather than through the media. 

Shashi Tharoor flags 'issues' with Congress

Speaking to news agency PTI, the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram emphasised his long-standing 17-year association with Congress, and stated whatever has gone wrong, it "needs to be addressed and will be addressed in an appropriate forum". His statement reportedly stemmed from Rahul Gandhi and the Kerala unit's alleged attempts 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," he told PTI. 

When asked about skipping a party meeting on Kerala's assembly elections, Tharoor said he'd informed the leadership about his unavailability, citing a literature festival and difficulty with constant travel. 

Shashi Tharoor on Operation Sindoor

"After the terror attack, which killed 26 people, the Congress leader had said that the act "cannot go unpunished, there has to be a kinetic response. I have at no stage violated any of the Congress' positions in Parliament; the only issue on which there has been public disagreement on principle is about Operation Sindoor, where I did take a very strong stand, and I remain unapologetic about that," Tharoor said. Tharoor's comments come on the backdrop of speculation over him being "upset" for being ignored by party leaders, particularly by Rahul Gandhi, at a party event in Kochi on January 19.

Tharoor had attended the 'mahapanchayat' party event, where Rahul Gandhi was present too. However, as Gandhi entered the stage, along with KC Venugopal, multiple party leaders were greeted directly; however, a direct greeting to Tharoor was not given.