Shashi Tharoor Attends Putin State Dinner: Balancing Party Loyalty and Parliamentary Responsibility

NDTV CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi:

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reflected with pride on a geopolitical term he coined two decades ago, noting its increased relevance today. He also discussed his attendance at the Rashtrapati Bhavan dinner during Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day state visit.

Tharoor indicated that his presence at Friday's Rashtrapati Bhavan event was connected to his role as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs.

"I have come back [to Rashtrapati Bhawan] after a while. For some years I think they had a different attitude. This time it seems that they have decided to open up a little more to other voices, and frankly because the relationships with foreign countries are precisely what the parliamentary standing committee deals with, it's helpful to have some insight into what goes on in the conversations, the atmosphere and so on. So I'm very pleased to be here for that reason. Nothing more, nothing less," Tharoor explained to NDTV CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal following what he described as an "excellent" state dinner.

Several Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh, had raised concerns about party MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Rajya Sabha Leader Mallikarjun Kharge not receiving invitations to the event.

These reactions emerged after Tharoor confirmed to reporters outside parliament earlier that day that he had received and would accept the invitation. When questioned about the Opposition Leaders' absence from the guest list, Tharoor mentioned he was unaware of the invitation criteria but felt honored to be included.

Tharoor clarified that cooperating with the government as an MP for his constituency's benefit was "a different conversation" unrelated to receiving an invitation to the Rashtrapati Bhavan dinner.

"That has nothing to do with getting invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan which may or may not happen otherwise. But the truth is that on the question of cooperating with the government of the day, you don't abandon your convictions or principles but you find common ground. I mean part of democracy and part of the cooperation between government and Opposition in a democracy is about finding common ground. We disagree on some things, we agree on some things, and where we agree we should work together," said the Congress MP, who has recently made positive remarks about the government, causing some discomfort within his party.

Given Tharoor's recent comments and the Congress party's repeated disappointment over the government's selections when inviting Opposition leaders for national work—such as including Tharoor in delegations sent abroad to brief other nations about Operation Sindoor—questions arise about whether the Thiruvananthapuram MP might be considering a significant political move.

Tharoor provided a measured, somewhat cryptic response: "...I don't know why this has to be asked. I mean I'm an MP of the Congress party. I went to great trouble to get elected. It would take a considerable amount of thought and various other considerations to be anything else."

He emphasized his commitment to his constituents, stating that he has responsibilities to fulfill for his voters.

"Even today in some of the conversations before we all sat down to dinner, I was trying to plug certain things for my constituency with some of the officials I was coming across here from our own government. So that's part of the life blood of getting things done for your people, your voters, your constituency. That's political responsibility," he added.