Shashi Tharoor skips key Congress meeting for third time in a row

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, for the third time in a row, has skipped a crucial meeting of party MPs chaired by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, sparking speculations of his ties with the grand old party. The meeting was held on Friday (December 12).

However, Tharoor had informed the party leadership about his inability to attend the meeting, reported ANI, quoting sources. Another Congress MP, Manish Tiwari, was also absent from the meeting.

Was in Kolkata

Shashi Tharoor’s absence from key Congress discussions has drawn attention in recent weeks, with two earlier meetings in November also having been missed by the Thiruvananthapuram MP.

The first instance occurred on November 30 during a strategy session chaired by Sonia Gandhi. The meeting was considered significant, given that Tharoor and several others had questioned her leadership in 2020 as part of the so-called ‘rebel’ group. After reports surfaced about his absence, Tharoor clarified to journalists, “I did not skip it; I was on a plane coming from Kerala.”

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Further explanation came from his office, which stated that he had been travelling with his 90-year-old mother on a rescheduled flight to Delhi, making attendance impracticable. On that day, KC Venugopal, another senior Congress figure, had also been unable to participate.

The second missed meeting took place on November 18, when the party convened to discuss its strong objections to the Special Intensive Revision, a voter re-verification process that has become politically contentious. That discussion was led jointly by Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Tharoor was absent again, this time citing ill health, a reason the party acknowledged even as his repeated non-attendance continued to draw internal scrutiny.

Congress chides Tharoor

Tharoor had previously drawn criticism from some party members after being the sole Congress leader invited to the state banquet hosted by the President in honour of visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Also Read: Congress upset as LoPs not invited to Putin banquet, slams Tharoor for accepting call

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera was asked to comment on Tharoor receiving an invitation to the state banquet and on the Kerala MP’s decision to attend it. In response, he said such matters should first be addressed by Tharoor himself.

“Ask Mr. Tharoor,” Khera remarked, stressing that party members must reflect on the circumstances under which they accept official invitations. “All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience,” he said, adding that the politics surrounding who is invited and who is excluded is itself troubling. “We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.

What Tharoor said

Tharoor, for his part, recalled that there was earlier a consistent practice of inviting the chairperson of the External Affairs Committee to such events, a tradition that he said had lapsed in recent years but “has been resumed.” Confirming his attendance, he stated, “It has been resumed … I have been invited, yes. I will definitely go.”

Also Read: Shashi Tharoor slams Opposition over Parliament disruptions

Responding to questions about why senior Opposition leaders were reportedly left out, Tharoor said he could not comment on the criteria. “I don't know on what basis invitations were sent… All I can say I am honoured to have been invited. Of course I will go.”