Srinagar, 22 June (H.S.): Congress MP and senior leader Shashi Tharoor has come under criticism after he described the situation in the union Territory as showing encouraging progress towards normalcy following a meeting with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar.

In a post on X after meeting Sinha on Sunday at Lok Bhavan, Tharoor said they discussed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the encouraging progress towards normalcy.

We discussed the situation in the state and the encouraging progress towards normalcy. When I arrived he was chatting to the President of the Kashmiri Writers' Association and the Women's Organisation - a positive outreach that I welcomed. Many challenges remain and much remains to be done, but I left the meeting feeling more positives than I have felt for a while, Tharoor posted on X .

The remarks, however, drew sharp criticism from several political figures including his own party who accused him of relying on official briefings while failing to engage with a wider cross-section of society.

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said people in Kashmir had expected Tharoor to interact with ordinary citizens and party workers to gain a better understanding of the ground situation.

People of Kashmir too were expecting you to meet them to have a better understanding of the ground realities. Atleast could've spared sometime to meet own partymen fighting for statehood snatched from us 7 years ago, Sharma said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar