New Delhi, July 20 -- Amid rumours of a rift with the Congress party, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that nation comes first and parties are the means of making the country better.

"Which is your first loyalty? To my mind, the nation comes first. Parties are a means of making the nation better. So, to my mind, whichever party you belong to, the objective of the party is to create a better India in its own way," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said while speaking at a private event in Kochi on 'Peace, Harmony and National Development'.

Tharoor also said that he will stand his ground regarding supporting the nation's armed forces and the government as he believes "this is the right thing for the country".

According to a...