Tharoor on guest list for Putin dinner; Kharge, Rahul kept out

The absence of an invitation to senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for the presidential banquet in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin led the Congress to question the ruling BJP for throwing time-tested conventions to the wind.

The snub to leaders of the opposition--Rahul in the Lok Sabha and Kharge in the Rajya Sabha--was accentuated by the invitation Congress MP Shashi Tharoor got for the dinner.

Tharoor’s ties with his party have been far from cordial on account of his frequent departures from the Congress line on a variety of political subjects in the recent past.

Tharoor accepted the invitation and described it as a courtesy extended to the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for External Affairs.

Asked about no invites to his leaders, Tharoor said he was not aware of the process followed to extend invitations for state dinners. The Congress questioned the move, with AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh saying there was speculation whether Kharge and Rahul would be invited for the dinner. “The two LoPs didn’t receive the invite," Ramesh said.

Congress media chief Pawan Khera said the government had disregarded protocols and did not care for principles. "There is no invitation to both the leaders of the opposition. This comes as a surprise, but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols," said Khera.

On Tharoor, he said everyone should heed their conscience. "All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and heed our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable and those who accept such an invite are also questionable," Khera said in a swipe at Tharoor.

The developments came a day after Rahul blamed the government for the absence of a meeting with Putin even as the government clarified that such meetings were the prerogative of the visiting head of state.

Taking a swipe at Rahul, BJP sources asked whether the Congress leader had “honoured his constitutional duties by skipping the swearing-in ceremony of Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan and the oath of CJI Surya Kant”.

"Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge had skipped Independence Day function at the Red Fort. When Kartavya Bhavan was inaugurated, Rahul chose not to come," said ruling party leaders, asking if this was how leaders holding constitutional offices should conduct themselves.