Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 23: In yet another instance of deep chasm between him and the Congress leadership, the party MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor on Friday skipped a meeting convened by the senior leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi reportedly to stay back in his home state Kerala when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting the state.
Tharoor’s absence sparked a buzz that he was upset with Rahul Gandhi over lack of respect. The Congress sources said Tharoor had sought high command’s permission to skip the meeting to stay in Kerala for the PM’s events. He wanted to remain present in his constituency when Mr Modi was holding a road show and a rally in the state capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, the sources said.
Top leaders from the Congress’ state unit were to meet Rahul Gandhi and party boss Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi this afternoon to discuss the Assembly elections in Kerala later this year. As a four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor was expected to attend, even though his relations with the party are uneasy, at best. A diplomat by training, Tharoor is widely seen as being on thin ice with the Congress’ central leadership after comments that appear to praise the Prime Minister and the ruling BJP.
These include remarks about the Prime Minister’s handling of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, i.e., the retaliatory military strikes on Pakistan, as well as occasional critical comments in the media about the party and its leadership issues.
The party sources earlier said Mr Tharoor might join the meeting virtually from Kerala as he was only unable to be physically present because of a scheduling conflict; he had committed to an appearance at a literature festival in Kozhikode. However, after the meeting in Delhi began at 2.30 P.M., it was confirmed that Tharoor had skipped the meeting entirely, due to that prior engagement, and had informed the party about his unavailability.
The sources had indicated that Tharoor skipped the Delhi meeting as he felt “insulted” at a Mahapanchayat event in Kochi recently in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. They indicated that he was currently upset with both the state and central leadership of the Congress, which has contributed to his decision not to attend the meeting. Tharoor reportedly conveyed his disappointment to close associates, expressing that the incident reflects a broader pattern of disregard for his contributions within the party.
At the Kochi event, issues arose with the seating and speaking schedule. Tharoor was reportedly told that only Rahul Gandhi would speak after him, but later other leaders spoke as well. The confusion over the arrangements was seen as a public slight, particularly given Tharoor’s seniority in the Congress.
Despite the initial instruction, several other party leaders addressed the event after Rahul Gandhi’s arrival. This deviation from the established plan reportedly added to Tharoor’s dissatisfaction, especially considering the perceived breach of protocol regarding the order of speakers.
The incident has sparked discussions among party cadres about internal discipline and respect for senior leaders. During his speech at the Mahapanchayat, Rahul Gandhi did not mention Tharoor by name. Observers noted that this omission was notable given Tharoor’s prominence within the party and the state. The lack of acknowledgement contributed to the overall sense of dissatisfaction expressed by Tharoor, the sources said.
The Congress party has not issued an official statement in response to Tharoor’s reported discomfort or his decision to skip the Kerala elections meeting. But party sources later said Tharoor had obtained due permission from the party high command to skip the meeting so that he could be present in his constituency for PM’s event.
Mr Tharoor’s praise of Mr Modi in several occasions in the recent months had triggered fierce retorts from the Congress, including bitter comments by the sources about Tharoor angling for a jump to the BJP. Tharoor, however, flatly ruled out any talk of a switch stating that he had remained loyal to the party and its ideology for 16 years. “It (praise for the Prime Minister) is not a sign of my leaping to join his party… as some people have, unfortunately, been implying. It is a statement of national unity…” he had said.
But talk of that switch, however, never really went away. In fact the tension between Tharoor and the Congress – which the BJP frequently pounces on to mock its rival – played out Thursday too. The Lok Sabha MP posted a selfie with ex-BJP MP and current India men’s cricket team coach Gautam Gambhir, whom he praised for holding down “the second-hardest job in India, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
And the BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla responded. He drew parallels between Tharoor’s comment about cricket fans second-guessing Gambhir’s coaching and tactics and the opposition doing the same to the PM, accusing the latter of acting against national interests. “… Tharoor’s acknowledgement that Prime Minister Modi has the hardest job in India… given how he is second-guessed by an opposition that puts parivarik (family) interests above Bharat’s…”