Jammu/Srinagar, June 23 -- Congress MP and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs Shashi Tharoor's remarks about "encouraging progress towards normalcy" in Jammu and Kashmir, made after a meeting with lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, have not gone down well with his party here. "We discussed the situation in the state and the encouraging progress towards normalcy.Many challenges remain and much remains to be done, but I left the meeting feeling more positive than I have felt for a while," Tharoor posted on Sunday while sharing a photograph with the LG in Srinagar. Taking exception to the Tharoor's post, chief spokesperson of the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee Ravinder Sharma said he should have met the people of Kashmir. "People of Kashmir too were expecting you to meet them to gain a better understanding of the ground realities. At least you could have spared some time to meet your own party workers who have been fighting for the restoration of statehood, which was taken away seven years ago," Sharma posted on social networking site X. Amid the controversy, Tharoor said the panel is in Jammu and Kashmir not to evaluate conditions in the Valley and its focus is limited to matters related to foreign affairs. "I want to make it very clear that this is not a visit about checking the conditions in Kashmir. We are strictly focused on issues related to India-Pakistan relations, Sino-Indian relations and the functioning of passport offices," he said. I have just called on the lieutenant governor and have not had a chance to see other things and listen to other people's voices, he added. The parliamentary committee, which also includes MPs Asaduddin Owaisi, Arun Govil, Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Vijay Baghel, K Laxman, B S Mubarak, Vikas Kumar and B S Rawat, is scheduled to visit army headquarters for a briefing and the Jammu border before leaving for Kashmir on Tuesday. They are also scheduled to visit Ladakh as part of the study tour. Earlier, Congress district president and senior leader Mir Iqbal, reacting to the post, said that MP Throor just witnessed cosmetic measures whichportrayed normalcy in Kashmir. "If he would have met workers and common masses I am sure his comments would have been completely different what he wrote," he said. Tharoor, on his part, said the panel had conversations with the regional passport office, the MEA representative, police and the postal department. "We are concerned about some of the delays that have been impeding passport issuance in this area, and we have been raising some very strong questions because we want to see improvements and speeding up of the passport delivery for applicants in Kashmir, Leh, Srinagar and Jammu," said the Congress MP. BJP MP Govil said, "We held discussions on the issuance of passports and also took some suggestions. Based on this, we will submit our report." The parliamentarian also took a swipe at the Congress over its criticism of Tharoor, alleging that it habitually opposes positive developments. "Congress tends to criticise every good thing. It has become its habit," he said....