Have Differences With Some in Cong: Tharoor

Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that he had "differences of opinion" with some in the party leadership and alleged that he was not invited to campaign for the byelection in Nilambur, but added that the party, its values and workers were very dear to him.

- Vishnu Varma

KOCHI:

Tharoor was speaking to reporters in his constituency of Thiruvananthapuram after returning to the state following engagements in the UK and Delhi.

When asked why he was absent from the party's campaign in Nilambur, which went to the polling booth on Thursday, Tharoor replied, "It is true that I was not invited (to campaign). As you know, I was abroad for around 16 days. Even then, I did not get an invite or even a missed call...But regardless of whether I campaigned or not, I want the Congress to win in Nilambur. We have a good candidate there, and our workers have worked very hard."

The Thiruvananthapuram MP also dwelt briefly on the speculations of friction between him and the Congress leadership in the backdrop of Congress leader Udit Raj's comment that Tharoor had become a "super spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party".