By Siddharth Sharma
New Delhi [India], November 30 : Congress Working Committee Member and MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday missed an important meeting of the Congress's strategic group, led by Sonia Gandhi, regarding the winter session of Parliament.
However, Tharoor's office stated that he was in Kerala and was travelling back with his 90-year-old mother by a later flight.
It is important to note that due to campaigning in the local body elections, the General Secretary of the Congress, KC Venugopal, was also unable to reach Delhi for the meeting today.
Earlier, Tharoor had also missed a Congress meeting called on the SIR issue, citing ill health. However, questions arose when he attended PM Modi's event a day earlier.
Interestingly, posts praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously appeared on his Instagram.
Following his comments about PM Modi, he received criticism from the party's other leaders.
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 an 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 give an explanation. If you are not giving one, you are a hypocrite."
Meanwhile, Congress leader Supriya Srinate also said, "I didn't find anything in the speech (of PM Modi) worth appreciating. I think PM must answer a lot of things. He was at an event of a newspaper. He should tell us what his problem is with fair journalism. He should have told us why is he not happy with those who show and speak truth...So, I didn't see any reason to appreciate him. I don't know how he (Shashi Tharoor) found one...I found it to be a petty speech. He criticised Congress there too. PM thinks of Congress day and night. This is amazing."
Tharoor's continued absence from key Congress meetings has become a subject of discussion within the party. His complicated relationship with the Congress leadership and his occasional positive remarks about PM Modi are also well known.