Shashi Tharoor skips Rahul Gandhi-led meeting for Congress MPs, third time in a row
Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, has recently faced criticism for comments that some believe were too soft on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
PTC News Desk: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor skipped a meeting of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs chaired by Rahul Gandhi on Friday, raising fresh questions within the party about why he keeps missing important discussions. Party sources said Tharoor had informed the leadership beforehand, though the Congress chief whip said he didn’t know the reason for his absence.
Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, has recently faced criticism for comments that some believe were too soft on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. He missed Friday’s meeting as well as several other Congress Lok Sabha meetings in recent weeks. Chandigarh MP Manish Tiwari was also absent. Tharoor’s public schedule shows that he was in Kolkata last night for an event hosted by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, suggesting he may not have reached Delhi in time.
This comes shortly after Tharoor clarified that he had not intentionally skipped the Congress strategy meeting on November 30, explaining that he was on a flight from Kerala at the time. He repeated this clarification on December 1 after questions were raised. Tharoor had earlier missed a Congress meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue as well, saying he was unwell. His office had said he was travelling with his 90-year-old mother on a later flight from Kerala and couldn’t arrive in Delhi in time. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal also missed that meeting because he was busy campaigning for local body elections in Kerala.
However, some Congress leaders remain uncomfortable about Tharoor’s repeated absences — especially after he became the only Congress leader invited to the President’s state banquet for visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin. That invitation created a buzz inside the party. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had commented, “Everyone’s conscience speaks. When my leaders are not invited, but I am, we should understand what the game is, who is playing it, and why we shouldn’t get involved.”