Is Shashi Tharoor joining BJP? Congress MP denies rumours

After reports surfaced that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was joining the BJP, the former UN diplomat denied rumours on Facebook.

Thiruvananthapuram, April 10: In Kerala, speculation is rife that Congress Member of Parliament from the state, Shashi Tharoor, is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party soon. Recently, Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that four Congress leaders from Kerala, including Tharoor, planned to join the BJP.

Writer and politician Tharoor is an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Lok Sabha constituency since 2009. The Congress leader, however, rubbished the rumours. In his Facebook post, Tharoor, wrote, "In view of the number of people asking, let me repeat that my convictions are a matter of record and they do not match those of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For 40+years I have spoken and written in defence of a pluralist India with equal rights for all its citizens and communities."

"On this, no compromise. Rumours of my joining BJP have been floated periodically with no basis whatsoever. I deny them categorically and without qualification," added the former United Nations diplomat.

The MP also tweeted to clear the air about the reports of him joining the saffron party.

Balakrishnan added that Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president MM Hassan had said that one of the Congress leaders joining the BJP was Tharoor. However, Hassan denied having made any such remarks when contacted by reporters.

"When media persons asked me whether the reports about four Congress leaders joining the BJP has come to his notice, I said there is no such thing," Hassan told PTI.

"When I asked him about such reports, he (Tharoor) told me that it was a propaganda by the BJP," Hassan added. Tharoor campaigned for the Congress-led United Democratic Front candidate for the April 12 bypoll in Malappuram.

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