‘We are on the same page’, says Shashi Tharoor after meeting Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge

All Congress leaders are “on the same page”, MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday after meeting party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi amid speculation of strained ties.

The meeting, held at Kharge’s office in Parliament, came ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections that are expected to be held in April or May.

Tharoor told reporters that his discussions with Kharge and Gandhi had been “constructive” and “positive”, adding that “all is good and we are moving together”, PTI reported.

When asked about reports that he was upset about being overlooked as the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate for the Kerala polls, Tharoor said that he was “not interested” in any new position.

Tharoor said that he was already serving as an MP and had the trust of his voters in Thiruvananthapuram. “I’m not looking for any new job,” he added.

When asked whether he felt “rebuked” or “dishonoured” by Gandhi, Tharoor reiterated that the discussion among the three leaders had been constructive.

The speculation about a rift in the party had intensified in recent days after Tharoor skipped two key party meetings, including a strategy session on the Kerala polls and a parliamentary group meeting, Mathrubhumi reported.

It was reported at the time that Tharoor felt slighted at a party event in Kochi on January 19, where Gandhi acknowledged several leaders by name but did not mention Tharoor, despite his presence on the dais.

After the meeting on Thursday, Tharoor said on social media that the discussion with his party colleagues had been “warm and constructive”. “We are all on the same page as we move forward in the service of the people of India,” he added.

On January 5, Tharoor asserted that he has never deviated from the Congress’ party line, despite criticism about some of his remarks.

Speculation about differences with the party leadership had emerged in recent months after Tharoor praised Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani on his birthday on November 8. Tharoor had described Advani as a “true statesman”.

Advani was among the Hindutva leaders who led the agitation for the Ram temple in Ayodhya through his “Ram Rath Yatra” in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With thousands of supporters in tow, the yatra had triggered communal violence in its wake, especially in northern India.

After his praise for Advani triggered a debate in November, Tharoor had defended his remarks saying that reducing the BJP leader’s long years of service to one episode, “however significant”, was unfair.

The Congress had at the time distanced itself from Tharoor’s comments.

In December, another controversy arose after a non-governmental organisation announced Tharoor as a recipient of an award named after Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar allegedly without his consent.

Tharoor refused to accept the award, even as the organisers claimed that he had agreed to it earlier. The Congress leader had said that he had learnt of the announcement only through reports, adding that it was “irresponsible on the part of the organisers” to announce his name without him having agreed to receiving it.

Before Tharoor publicly rejected the award, Congress leader K Muraleedharan had told reporters that no party member, including Tharoor, should accept an award named after Savarkar “as he had bowed before the British”.

While Hindutva parties, including the ruling BJP, have adopted Savarkar as an icon, the Congress’ views about him have hardened over the decades. The Congress has criticised Savarkar, claiming he asked for mercy after being jailed by the colonial government.

On November 18, Tharoor’s comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture in Delhi had also sparked a row. He had described Modi’s speech as a blend of “economic outlook and a cultural call to action, urging the nation to be restless for progress”.

The Congress had said at the time that it found no reason to praise the prime minister’s lecture.

In July, the party had distanced itself from Tharoor’s praise for Modi’s approach to the India-Pakistan conflict in May.