Upset with Rahul Gandhi, Tharoor to skip Congress high command meet
NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor will skip a meeting convened by the Congress high command on Friday to review preparations for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. Party sources have attributed his absence to displeasure over an incident involving Rahul Gandhi at a party event in Kochi.
According to sources, Tharoor felt “insulted” during a recent Mahapanchayat held in Kochi, which was attended by Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders. The development has come as a setback for the Congress, as it follows a brief thaw in Tharoor’s relationship with the party leadership after he attended a two-day state leadership camp in Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad, earlier this month.
According to sources close to Tharoor, he has chosen to stay away from the high-level meeting as a mark of protest against both the state and central leadership of the party. Despite attempts by AICC in-charge for Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi and other leaders to reach out to him, Tharoor reportedly did not respond to their calls.
The immediate trigger for the fallout was an incident at the Kochi event, where Tharoor had to cut short his speech. When Rahul Gandhi arrived on stage, Tharoor stopped speaking and greeted him. However, contrary to the initial instruction, at least six leaders went on to address the gathering after Gandhi’s arrival.
Tharoor was particularly upset that Rahul Gandhi did not acknowledge him by name in his speech, despite mentioning several other leaders present on the dais. “Given his seniority and his position as a Congress Working Committee member, Tharoor felt that Rahul Gandhi should have mentioned his name. The party cannot afford to ignore his popularity during the assembly election campaign,” said a senior party leader.
Before leaving the venue, Tharoor reportedly conveyed his displeasure to some leaders present at the event. Sources close to him said he believed the omission of his name was deliberate and feared that he was being ‘sidelined’ after being used by the party ahead of the elections scheduled for April–May. “He is deeply upset and feels the party may marginalise him once the elections are over,” said an associate.
While Tharoor will not attend the Congress high command meeting, he is scheduled to attend the Kerala Literature Festival later on Friday.
Sources added that Tharoor felt there had been a temporary improvement in his ties with the party following his interventions in Parliament during the winter session and his participation in the Wayanad leadership camp. However, the latest episode has reinforced his belief that the leadership is once again distancing itself from him.
Tharoor’s uneasy equation with the party’s official line has been evident for some time. His recent public comments praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his remarks critical of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty had earlier caused embarrassment to the Congress.
Earlier, the Congress warned him over remarks on the Indo-Pak conflict that were not in sync with the party’s position.
Further, a recent survey by a national media outlet projected Tharoor as a prospective Chief Ministerial candidate in Kerala, which was not to the liking of the state unit of the Congress.