Congress MP Shashi Tharoor seemed to dodge a question on Thursday, when asked about his upcoming meeting with Leader of Opposition in Parliament Rahul Gandhi. Tharoor didn't divulge much, adding he would let the media know when it happens.
“When it happens, it will happen. I’ll let you know,” Tharoor said. “What's so unusual about meeting my own party leader? Come on,” the MP further said as he headed towards the Parliament premises.
The senior Congress leader's remarks come days after media reports claimed that he was “upset” with the party leadership due to a perceived snub by Rahul Gandhi at a recent event in Kerala's Kochi.
The speculation was triggered by Tharoor's absence at Congress's high-level Kerala poll strategy meeting in New Delhi last week. The meeting Tharoor missed was attended by the party's top brass, including Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, and Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi, besides Sachin Pilot and K J George, plus state unit chief Sunny Joseph along with Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan.
{{/usCountry}}The speculation was triggered by Tharoor's absence at Congress's high-level Kerala poll strategy meeting in New Delhi last week. The meeting Tharoor missed was attended by the party's top brass, including Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, and Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi, besides Sachin Pilot and K J George, plus state unit chief Sunny Joseph along with Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan.
{{/usCountry}}However, the party leadership had said that Tharoor skipped the meet due to prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) and had informed about his absence in advance.
Amid the controversy, Tharoor had reportedly said that he had some "issues" with the party which he would take up with the leadership when he arrives in Delhi for the Parliament session.
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“All I can say is that there are issues which I need to take up with my own party leadership and not in a public forum…I will be going to Delhi for Parliament and I will get an opportunity, I believe, to make my concerns very clear to the party leadership and get their viewpoint… have a proper conversation,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI last week.
Regarding his absence at the Delhi meet, Tharoor had said that he wanted to attend the literature festival and continuous travel was difficult. "However, I will certainly attend all party activities in Parliament, and at that time I can meet the party leadership," he said.
The Delhi meet absence was not the first time Tharoor skipped a high-level Congress meeting. At least three similar instances have reportedly been seen over the past few months.
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Notably, while Shashi Tharoor skipped the Delhi party meet, he did attend Prime Minister Narendra Modis' official government event in Thiruvananthapuram where he flagged off some trains.