Shashi Tharoor, who was injured during a thulabharam ritual at a temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, tweeted that he was touched by Nirmala Sitharaman's gesture after the defense minister visited the Congress MP in the hospital on Tuesday morning.
Tharoor shared a photo with the tweet, saying civility is a rare virtue in Indian politics. Though Nirmala Sitharaman has previously sparred with Congress leaders, in the photo, she is seen smiling and shaking hands with Tharoor as he lay in bed.
“Touched by the gesture of @nsitharaman, who dropped by today morning to visit me in the hospital, amid her hectic electioneering in Kerala. Civility is a rare virtue in Indian politics - great to see her practice it by example!(sic),” Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
Tharoor, a two-time MP lawmaker from Thiruvananthapuram, was injured on Monday when the scales used as part of the thulabaharam ritual gave way and the heavy hook fell on his head. The ritual, in which a person is weighed against offerings on a giant scale, is quite popular in temples in Kerala.
Tharoor, who was participating in the ritual as part of the Vishu celebrations, received six stitches after he was taken to the Government Medical College in the city. The Congress leader is likely to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.
Seeking re-election from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor is expected to continue his campaigning soon after being discharged from the hospital.
Kerala goes to polls in a single phase on April 23.