Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday praised Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for visiting him in hospital in Kerala despite her campaigning schedule. The Thiruvananthapuram MP was injured on Monday while performing the Tulabharam ceremony at a temple, which involved sitting on one side of a balance scale with offerings equivalent to his weight on the other side.

Tharoor said civility is a rare virtue in Indian politics. “Touched by the gesture of Nirmala Sitharaman who dropped by today morning to visit me in the hospital amid her hectic electioneering in Kerala,” Tharoor tweeted. “Civility is a rare virtue in Indian politics – great to see her practice it by example!”

Tharoor was administered eight stitches on his head at the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. The lawmaker purportedly fell after the balance scale broke.

The incident occurred at the Gandhari Amman Temple in Tharoor’s constituency of Thiruvananthapuram. The ceremony is a Hindu ritual and the offerings made, normally gold, grain or fruit, are considered to be a donation to the temple.

Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan is contesting against Tharoor.

All of Kerala’s 20 constituencies will vote on April 23.