'My stand not pro-BJP, but pro-govt or pro-India on certain issues': Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that his stand on certain issues may have been seen as pro-BJP by the media, but he has only seen it as pro-government or pro-India.

Tharoor said that he has made it clear in the past as well that on some international matters, he does not like to talk about politics and instead prefers to speak about the country.

"It is not something new, I have always said so," the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram told reporters.

A row had erupted last year over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack.

His comments were at variance with the Congress' stand and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions.

Tharoor, while speaking to reporters, also admitted that a party member should not go against the party line.

"I have always stood with the party in Parliament and therefore, there is no need to be concerned," he said.

On being asked by reporters whether he can categorically state he will not leave the Congress party, Tharoor said, "I can say that I am going to be in the Congress and that I am not going anywhere. I will be part of the poll campaign (in Kerala) and will work for the victory of the UDF."

"But, why is it that I am being asked to make such statements," he asked.

Tharoor, on Thursday, met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for redressal of his grievances, after which he said "all is good" and "we are all on the same page".

Tharoor had been upset over the treatment meted out to him at a Kochi event recently and attempts by some leaders to sideline him in Kerala.

The meeting comes ahead of the Kerala Assembly polls, which are very crucial for the Congress as it seeks to wrest power from the Left after 10 years in the opposition and is going all out to secure a victory in the southern state.