Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after President Draupadi Murmu hosted a state banquet to honor visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who attended, said a “warm and engaging atmosphere” reigned at the event.
Officially, the Congress on Friday lamented that the leaders of the opposition in parliament, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite, the media reported.
The Kerala leader, who for years was a distinguished Indian diplomat and served as the UN Undersecretary-General as well, said he enjoyed his conversations with many of the attendees.
“Attended the @rashtrapatibhvn banquet for President Putin last night. A warm and engaging atmosphere reigned. Enjoyed my conversations with many of the attendees, especially my dining companions from the Russian delegation!” Tharoor said in a social media post.
President Murmu, while welcoming Putin and his delegation at the banquet, said that his visit marked an important milestone — the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia strategic partnership, established in October 2000 during Putin’s first visit to the country as President.
She also appreciated Putin’s support and personal commitment to the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.
Lamenting the non-invite to the Congress, its media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
“There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don’t think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” he said on Friday.
About Tharoor accepting the invite for the banquet, Khera said, “Ask Mr Tharoor. 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. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable. “We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.
Earlier, Tharoor said that there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited, but that practice seems to have stopped some years ago.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the government, due to its “insecurity,” tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the leader of opposition.
His remarks came hours ahead of Putin’s two-day visit to India.
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