Tharoor Absent From Crucial CWC Session Amid Rising Party Tensions
Shashi Tharoor fuels rebellion rumours with repeated absences.
Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor once again absented himself from a crucial Congress Working Committee meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi on Sunday, intensifying speculation that his already frosty relationship with the party leadership has reached breaking point. The high-stakes strategy session was held to finalise the Opposition’s attack plan for the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, dominated by the controversial Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and national security after the recent Delhi blast.
When confronted by reporters outside Parliament House on Monday, Tharoor dismissed suggestions of deliberate boycott, claiming he was travelling from Kerala with his 90-year-old mother and was airborne during the meeting. However, this marks the latest in a string of high-profile absences, including skipping an earlier Congress brainstorming on the SIR issue despite being in Delhi, only to attend a Prime Minister Modi event the same evening and publicly praise the speech.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP’s growing proximity to the ruling BJP’s narrative, from lauding Modi and LK Advani to backing Operation Sindoor and the government’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack, has triggered open outrage within Congress ranks. Party spokesperson Supriya Srinate branded his praise for Modi “petty”, while senior leader Sandeep Dikshit publicly questioned his loyalty, stating, “If you believe the government is right and Congress is wrong on core issues, why remain in the party?”
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Sources indicate that Tharoor’s recent article subtly criticising dynastic politics within Congress, without extending the same scrutiny to BJP leaders’ families, has further alienated the Gandhi family and the top brass, including Mallikarjun Kharge. Once part of the G-23 reformist group and a former contender for Congress presidency, Tharoor now finds himself increasingly isolated as Kerala approaches Assembly elections next year.
With the Congress desperately trying to project unity against the Modi government during a charged Parliament session, Tharoor’s continued defiance and independent positioning have raised serious questions about his long-term future in the party, leaving political circles buzzing about an imminent and dramatic exit.
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