NEW DELHI: Political tempers ran high on Friday after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor appeared on the guest list for the state dinner hosted for Russian President Vladimir Putin, even as Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses — Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge — were conspicuously left out.
The controversy erupted just a day after Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of “breaking tradition” and not allowing foreign dignitaries to meet the LoP out of “insecurity”. A furious Congress hit back at the government, calling the move deliberate. The party also criticised Tharoor for accepting the invitation, saying he “should have listened to his conscience”. Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “The two LoPs have not been invited.”
Pawan Khera, who heads the Congress media and publicity department, accused the government of “breaking protocols daily” and showing little respect for democratic norms. “There is no invite to both the LoPs. This is surprising, but perhaps not unexpected. This government is known to breach all protocols. What else can one say?” he told reporters.
Aiming his criticism at Tharoor, Khera added, “All of us in the party, if our leaders don’t get invited and we do, we need to question our own conscience. Politics has clearly been played in inviting or not inviting people, which is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable.”
Tharoor confirmed he would attend, saying the external affairs committee chair had traditionally been invited in the past. On the exclusion of the LoPs, he said he did not know the criteria.