Congress MP Shashi Tharoor missed the meeting on Sunday of the party’s strategic group led by Sonia Gandhi, regarding the winter session of Parliament. He clarified on Monday that he did not intentionally skip the meeting held a day earlier, stating that he was on a flight returning from Kerala when the meeting took place.
His absence from Sunday’s meeting had drawn attention within the political circles.
According to ANI, responding to questions on his absence, the Lok Sabha MP said, “I did not skip it; I was on a plane, coming from Kerala.”
#WATCH | #ParliamentWinterSession | Delhi | On not attending the Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group meeting yesterday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, “… I did not skip it, I was on a plane, coming from Kerala…” pic.twitter.com/FnZrV9VdQu— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2025
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Earlier, Tharoor’s office had also clarified that he was in Kerala and was travelling back with his 90-year-old mother on a later flight.
This is not the first time Tharoor has missed a party meeting. Recently, the Congress leader had also missed a Congress meeting called on the SIR issue and had cited ill health.
His decision to attend a government event addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day after he missed the SIR meeting had triggered questions from some party leaders.
Adding to the controversy were earlier posts on Tharoor’s social media praising the Prime Minister, which drew criticism from within the party’s ranks.
Speaking to ANI earlier, the Congress leader Sandeep Dixit said,”Shashi Tharoor’s problem is that I don’t think he knows a lot about the country… If, according to you, someone is doing good for the country by going against the Congress’s policies, then you should follow those policies… Why are you in Congress? Is it only because you are a MP? … If you really feel that the BJP or PM Modi’s strategies are working better than the party you are in, then you should explain. If you are not giving one, you are a hypocrite.”
Notably, the relationship between Congress and Tharoor has not been hidden from anyone for a long time, particularly in the wake of Tharoor’s occasional inclination towards PM Modi several times after the Indian Armed Forces’ Operation Sindoor.
(with ANI inputs)
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