Tharoor acknowledges Pushkar as fiancée

Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Friday acknowledged that Sunanda Pushkar was his fiancée.

Accompanied by Pushkar, Tharoor was in Mumbai to deliver the 16th Lalit Doshi Memorial lecture, whose organisers introduced her as his fiancée.

Referring to it at the start of his lecture, Tharoor said the organisers told him that last year Dr Anil Kakodkar made a powerpoint presentation during his lecture.

"They asked me if I was going to bring my visual aid. So I have brought one," he said looking in the direction of Pushkar, who was sitting in the front row with industrialists Adi Godrej and Keshub Mahindra.

Tharoor and Pushkar recently visited religious places in Maharashtra and performed puja together.

During a short question-answer session with the audience, Tharoor was asked what mistakes had been made in the last 50 years, to which he told the questioner, "You want me to get into trouble? We have made no mistakes in the last 50 years. I am the only one who made mistakes."

The former minister of state for external affairs said the country has done well and needs to be better in the transforming world scenario.

Delivering the vote of thanks, former Maharashtra chief secretary Prem Kumar wished Tharoor and Pushkar well for their future.