Congress MP Shashi Tharoor with party leader Rahul Gandhi
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Igniting fresh trouble in Congress' Kerala unit, senior MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday skipped a meeting called by the central leadership to finetune strategy for state Assembly elections, apparently upset over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ignoring him at a party function recently.
The meeting of senior leaders from Kerala was called by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge in which state president Sunny Joseph, Legislature party leader V D Satheesan, Congress Working Committee members Ramesh Chennithala and Tharoor among others were invited to attend. Rahul and Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal also attended the meeting.
While leaders insisted that Tharoor had prior engagements and had informed his unavailability for the meeting, sources said his absence had to do more with Rahul not acknowledging him at the party's 'Maha Panchayath' programme held in Kochi on January 19 to felicitate local body poll winners. Rahul also did not mention Tharoor by name while acknowledging others, which has not gone down well with him.
Even as he skipped the meeting, the four-time MP was slated to attend the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, he has a scheduled programme in which renowned writer Salman Rushdie will be in conversation with him and Manasi Subramaniam. On Saturday, he will have two sessions.
As a controversy erupted over his absence, there was an attempt to downplay Tharoor's absence with Congress Kerala chief Sunny Joseph also saying Tharoor has prior engagements. Congress Lok Sabha Chief Whip Kodikkunnil Suresh told reporters that Tharoor has prior engagements and has informed the leadership about his unavailability due to this.
At a party leaders' conclave in Wayanad recently, reports had emerged that Kerala leaders have come together to fight elections unitedly. Senior leaders also had a discussion with Tharoor at the Wayanad conclave. He had made it clear that he was not interested in fighting Assembly elections, though he has been nurturing the ambition of being named the Chief Ministerial candidate.
Tharoor has been at loggerheads with the Congress leadership for sometime and his comments and stands on various issues had irked the party. Last May, the relationship further soared as he defended the Modi government over the Pahalgam terror strike and Operation Sindoor, defying the party line.
He had also put the Congress on the firing line by questioning "dynasty politics" besides defending the legacy of BJP veteran L K Advani, saying it is "unfair" to reduce his "long years of service to one episode" of leading the contentious Rath Yatra while drawing parallel to Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
He had also skipped a meeting called by the party leadership to review the contentious Special Intensive Revision exercise in 12 States, a day after attending a lecture delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “despite battling a bad cold and cough”.