Kerala Congress denies Tharoor's claim on Nilambur bypoll campaign
Party chief Sunny Joseph said Congress MP Tharoor was on star campaigners list for Nilambur bypoll; 'he was abroad and in Delhi most of the time', added Joseph
The Kerala Congress has denied Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s claim that he was not invited by the party to campaign in the recently concluded Nilambur bypoll in Kerala.
Sunny Joseph, the Kerala Congress chief, told the media that Shashi Tharoor’s name had figured in the list of star campaigners for the Nilambur bypoll.
Tharoor in party list
According to Joseph, the Congress party officially published the list and submitted it to the Election Commission. This list, the party chief claimed, included Shashi Tharoor’s name. “He was abroad most of the time, and then in Delhi. I don’t know if he even came to Kerala,” Sunny Joseph said, adding that he had nothing more to say on this matter.
Also read: Kerala bypolls: Tharoor hints at rift with Congress leadership
Further, he mentioned senior leaders like Ramesh Chennithala and Kodikunnil Suresh, with the exception of AK Antony, had campaigned for the Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath.
'Some differences'
Having just returned from a five-nation diplomatic tour along with an all-party team, Tharoor told reporters that the party never asked him to join the Nilambur campaign but that was “alright” since he had been on an official diplomatic tour abroad during most of the campaign period.
However, he pointed out that the leadership did not show any urgency after he returned from abroad either. “They did not insist and there were no missed calls from the leadership saying he should come,” he had told reporters.
Also read: 'Have better things to do': Tharoor hits back at Congress over Op Sindoor remark
Tharoor has also acknowledged that there were “some differences” with the Congress party.
The Congress party is unhappy with Tharoor for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his diplomatic tour and for not talking about similar strikes conducted during the UPA regime.