Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s absence from important party meetings for the third consecutive time has raised questions within the organization. Tharoor was also absent in the meeting of Lok Sabha MPs chaired by Rahul Gandhi on Friday (December 12). This absence has come at a time when the party is trying to maintain unity during the Parliament session.
According to party sources, Tharoor had already informed the leadership about his unavailability, but the Congress chief veep said he was not aware of the reasons for his absence. This continuous absence of Tharoor is also in the news because in recent months, some of his statements have been considered favorable towards BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has increased the uneasiness in the party.
Along with Tharoor, Congress MP from Chandigarh Manish Tewari was also not present in the meeting on Friday (December 12). Tharoor had attended a Prabha Khaitan Foundation event in Kolkata on Thursday (December 11) night, indicating that he could not return to Delhi on time.
This absence comes days after Tharoor gave an explanation for his absence from the Congress’ strategic group meeting held on November 30. He had said, “I did not miss it; I was coming from Kerala and was on the plane.”
Even before this, Tharoor had not been able to attend the meeting on Special Voter List Revision (SIR). His office had said he was traveling with his 90-year-old mother on a delayed flight from Kerala, preventing him from reaching Delhi in time for the meeting. Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal also could not attend that meeting due to local body elections.
However, many Congress leaders are of the view that Tharoor’s repeated absences send a serious signal about party discipline and priorities. Especially when recently he attended the state banquet hosted by the President in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the only Congress representative. This invitation gave rise to new discussions within the party.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had then commented, “Everyone has a conscience. When my leaders are not called, but I am called, then we should understand why this game is being played, who is playing, and why we should not be a part of it.” The Congress leadership has not yet made any official comment on this entire issue, but Shashi Tharoor’s continued absence has intensified both unease and speculation within the party.
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