NEW DELHI, DEC 12 : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was again absent from a meeting of the party\u2019s Lok Sabha MPs chaired by Rahul Gandhi on Friday, extending a pattern of non-attendance that has drawn internal attention in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, already under scrutiny for remarks viewed by some colleagues as favourable to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has now missed three consecutive key meetings of the Congress\u2019 parliamentary strategy groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Party sources said Tharoor had informed the leadership of his unavailability in advance. Chandigarh MP Manish Tiwari was also absent. Tharoor\u2019s public schedule showed he was in Kolkata on Thursday night for an event hosted by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, suggesting he may not have returned to Delhi in time for Friday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tharoor\u2019s latest absence comes after he skipped the November 30 strategy meet chaired by Sonia Gandhi, which he attributed to being mid-flight from Kerala. \u201cI did not skip it; I was on a plane, coming from Kerala,\u201d he clarified on December 1, after questions were raised within the party. His office had also explained that he and his 90-year-old mother had been moved to a later flight, making it impossible to attend on time. KC Venugopal, too, had missed that meeting due to local body poll campaigning in Kerala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had earlier missed the November 18 Congress meeting on the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter re-verification exercise, citing ill health. That absence came a day after he attended a private event at which the Prime Minister spoke, an event followed by an X post from Tharoor praising certain aspects of the PM\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comments sparked pushback from Congress leaders Supriya Shrinate and Sandeep Dikshit, with the latter even suggesting that Tharoor could consider leaving the party if he found Modi so impressive. Tharoor responded by stressing the need for \u201ccooperation across ideologies\u201d in India\u2019s federal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why are you in Congress if you think BJP\u2019s strategies are better: Party lashes out at Tharoor after praise for PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His string of absences has revived unease in the party, particularly after he was the sole Congress representative invited to the state banquet hosted by the President for visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had taken a pointed swipe then, remarking: \u201cEveryone\u2019s conscience has a voice. When my leaders aren\u2019t invited, but I am, we should understand why the game is being played, who is playing the game, and why we shouldn\u2019t be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to reports, the last major meeting Tharoor attended was in October, a six-hour-long session of Congress leaders from Kerala, also attended by Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, ahead of next year\u2019s Assembly polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Friday\u2019s meeting, Rahul Gandhi reviewed the party\u2019s performance during the Winter Session and urged MPs to intensify their attacks on the government before the session concludes on December 19. Gandhi repeated his claim from Thursday that his and Priyanka Gandhi\u2019s speeches had left Home Minister Amit Shah \u201cnervous,\u201d saying Shah used \u201cthe wrong language\u201d and appeared under \u201ctremendous mental pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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