Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday claimed that he has never deviated from the party line, notwithstanding criticism from within the outfit about some of his recent remarks, PTI reported.
Tharoor was speaking to reporters after attending the Lakshya 2026 Leadership Camp organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, expected to be held in April.
“My question is who said that I left the party line,” PTI quoted Tharoor as saying. “Even when I expressed my opinions on various subjects, on most matters, the party and I have stood on the same line.”
Speculation about differences with the party leadership had emerged after Tharoor praised senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani on his birthday on November 8.
Advani was among the Hindutva leaders who led the agitation for the Ram temple through his “Ram Rath Yatra” in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Babri Masjid, located in Ayodhya, was demolished by Hindutva extremists on December 6, 1992, because they believed that it stood on the spot on which the deity Ram had been born. The incident had triggered communal riots across the country.
After his praise for Advani had triggered a debate in November, Tharoor had defended his remarks saying that reducing the BJP leader’s long years of...
