Video: "Bizarre," Says Shashi Tharoor On Congress Rumblings Over His Kerala Tour
NDTV
"I've not joined any of the famous groups in the party... Nor do I intend to... I am interested in a united Congress party," Shashi Tharoor tells NDTV
As sections within the Congress see his four-day Kerala tour as a self-projection exercise or “parallel activity”, Shashi Tharoor today said such talk was “bizarre”. “I am very curious to know as to what is ‘parallel',” said the Thiruvananthapuram MP who last month stood against the Gandhis-backed veteran Mallikarjun Kharge in the party chief's election.
“Certainly I have the freedom to speak at a college or at a civil services academy. I've been doing that and no one can stop me from doing that," he said, speaking to NDTV on the last day of his tour that covered parts of North Kerala.
"I am a free citizen of a free republic,” added the former diplomat, who was among 23 Congress leaders who'd sought leadership reforms in a letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020.
“I am not saying anything against the Congress or what the party stands for,” he stressed. “I'm resolutely against factionalism. I have, in fact, not joined any of the famous groups in the party since the day I joined politics. Nor do I intend to join or start a group. I am interested in a united Congress party,” he added.
