Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 1: Congress Working Committee Member and MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday missed an important meeting of the party’s strategic group headed by Sonia Gandhi, convened to plan for the upcoming winter session of Parliament. His absence has once again stirred debate within the Congress over his commitment to party positions.

Tharoor’s office clarified that he was in Kerala and travelling back with his 90-year-old mother, and therefore could not reach Delhi in time. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal was also unable to attend due to local body election campaigning in Kerala.

This comes after Tharoor recently skipped another high-level meeting called on the SIR issue, citing poor health — a claim questioned by party leaders after he attended a PM Modi event just a day earlier.

Tharoor has also faced criticism for past social media posts praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Party leaders argue that such remarks contradict the Congress line.

Congress leader Sandeep Dixit, speaking to ANI, sharply criticised Tharoor’s stance. “Shashi Tharoor’s problem is that he doesn’t seem to understand the country… If you feel someone going against the Congress’s policies is doing good for the country, then why are you in Congress? If you think BJP or PM Modi’s strategies work better, explain yourself. If not, you are a hypocrite,” he said.

Supriya Srinate also questioned Tharoor’s appreciation of the Prime Minister’s recent speech. “I didn’t find anything worth praising. The PM must answer many questions… He criticised Congress again. I don’t know how Tharoor found anything to appreciate,” she remarked.

Tharoor’s recurring absence from key deliberations and his occasional positive comments about PM Modi have sparked renewed debate about his equation with the Congress leadership, adding to the ongoing churn within the party.