Jammu, June 23: Shashi Tharoor, the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, inspected the local passport office in Jammu on Monday. Prior to this, he had visited the Kashmir Valley.
Tharoor’s visit focused on reviewing India-Pakistan and India-China relations, as well as assessing the operations of local passport offices. He toured the passport service center in Jammu and met with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Political controversy arose during this visit. However, Tharoor clarified that the committee’s mandate is limited to external affairs, not domestic issues. After meeting with the Lieutenant Governor, he stated that Jammu and Kashmir is gradually moving towards normalcy.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress party criticized him for not meeting with party workers or local residents. Tharoor reiterated that evaluating domestic security or internal policies falls outside his committee’s jurisdiction.
On social media, Tharoor shared that he was welcomed by traditional folk dancers at the regional passport office in Jammu. He also visited a pharmacy that had previously operated as a clinic for 20 years, where Union Minister Jitendra Singh worked as a doctor.
He noted that this building, located at a corner, serves as a reminder that politicians have real lives before and after their political careers. Tharoor expressed that it would have been nice if Jitendra Singh had joined him during the visit.
In response, Jitendra Singh described Tharoor’s gesture as friendly and warm. He mentioned that this was the same clinic where he treated patients as a diabetologist for two decades. He also shared that he had treated Tharoor’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Das, who suffered from type-2 diabetes.
Jitendra Singh thanked Tharoor, stating that the meeting was inspiring and he would have been pleased to know about it in advance.
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