'We are all on the same page as we move forward in the service of the people of India,' Tharoor wrote on X.
Credit: X/@ShashiTharoor
New Delhi: Disgruntled senior leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday held a nearly two-hour long meeting with top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi here with the Thiruvananthapuram MP saying that “all is good” with him and the party leadership.
The deliberations were held at the office of Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, in Parliament and was joined by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, days after Tharoor skipped a meeting on Kerala elections, upset over Rahul allegedly ignoring him at a party function.
Though there was a thaw in Tharoor’s relationship with Kerala leaders, he was at loggerheads with the central leadership for sometime over a variety of issues, including his perception that he was ignored in the hierarchy and that he was not being considered to be party’s Chief Ministerial face in Kerala.
“Thanks to Congress president Kharge-ji and LS LoP Rahul Gandhi-ji for a warm and constructive discussion today on a wide range of subjects. We are all on the same page as we move forward in the service of the people of India,” Tharoor said, posting an image of the meeting on 'X'.
Sources said General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal facilitated the meeting after Tharoor expressed his intention to meet the two top leaders. No other leaders, including Venugopal, were present at the meeting, which also came amid speculation that Tharoor was in talks with the CPI(M).
“I had a discussion with my two leaders, the LoP and Congress president…All is good,” Tharoor told reporters after the meeting during which issues other than organisational matters were also discussed.
Asked whether he was upset with the leadership over the treatment meted out to him, he said he honestly has nothing more to say. He said he has always campaigned for the party and he will do so in Assembly elections while asking “when did I not campaign?”
To questions on whether he would be the Chief Ministerial face or campaign committee chairman in Kerala, he answered in the negative and said he was “frankly not interested” in being a candidate “for anything at the moment”.
He said he is already an MP, who has the trust of the voters in Thiruvananthapuram and he has to look after their interests in Parliament. “That is my job and I am not looking for any new job,” he said.
To repeated questions on whether he was satisfied with the discussions, he said he was “very satisfied” and had an “open discussion” during which all three leaders discussed issues frankly.
He said the media should not be worried about issues like whether he was upset over Rahul ignoring him and added, “whatever we have to say, all three of us spoke (inside).”
Tharoor had last week skipped a meeting of senior leaders called by Kharge while attending Kerala Literature Festival on the same day. He also did not attend the Congress Parliamentary Strategy meeting on Tuesday, as he landed in Delhi from Dubai where he had gone to attend another programme.