Congress leader slams Shashi Tharoor for accepting invite to Putin dinner at Rashtrapati Bhawan

Congress leader Pawan Khera has slammed party MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting the invitation to attend Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday night, saying the Congress MP should not have accepted it when the leaders of his own party were not invited. The split in the Congress has once again come out into the open, as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were not invited to the dinner in honour of the Russian president.

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Khera wondered whether Tharoor was unaware of the “game” being played.

“When my leaders aren;t invited, but I am, we should understand why the game is being played, who is playing the game, and why we shouldn’t be part of it...,” he said.

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“It’s quite surprising that an invitation was sent, and the invitation was accepted also. Everyone’s conscience has a voice,” Khera said.

Both the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge were not invited to the dinner organised for President Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, this was confirmed by Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on X.

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On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi had accused the Modi government of not inviting Opposition leaders to meet visiting delegations.

Meanwhile, Tharoor said he would certainly attend the dinner, adding that it was ‘not right’ that Opposition leaders were not invited.

“I don’t know on what basis the invitation is being sent, but I will certainly go; it is not right that leaders of the Opposition have not been invited,” he said before attending the dinner.

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