Tharoor strikes a conciliatory note after meeting Kharg, Rahul

New Delhi: Amid reports that he was angry with his party, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday met party president Mallikarjun Kharg and Rahul Gandhi and said “everything is good” and he is on the “same page” with the leadership.

The meeting at Kharge’s chamber in the Parliament House complex lasted for over an hour. Sources said Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal also joined the meeting.

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

“Everything is fine and we are on the same page, what more can I say,” he told reporters in the parliament premises after the meeting.

Asked if the issue of a chief ministerial face for the Kerala polls was discussed, Tharoor said it never was.

“I am not interested in running for anything. I am already an MP at this point, I have the trust of my constituents of Thiruvananthapuram. I have their interest to take care of in Parliament, that is my job,” he said.

Tharoor said he was satisfied with the meeting with senior Congress leaders. Last week, Tharoor skipped the party’s key strategy meeting for the upcoming Kerala polls, believed to be upset over Rahul Gandhi’s failure to properly acknowledge his presence at a recent event and repeated attempts by state leaders to “wean” him.

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

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

A row erupted last year over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack. His comments contradicted the Congress stand and many party leaders took a swipe at him questioning his intentions.

However, Tharoor insists that there is no difference in stance on foreign policy and there must be bipartisanship.

Kharge chaired a key party meeting with Kerala leaders here on Friday to fine-tune the party’s poll strategy.