Last Updated:
The Congress has pointed out that Leaders of Opposition in Parliament, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera (PTI image)
Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday questioned party MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting an invitation to the President’s banquet held in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, expressing surprise at the invite and saying that the decision to attend raised questions of conscience.
“It’s quite surprising that an invitation was sent and the invitation was accepted also. Everyone’s conscience has a voice. 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,” Khera said.
#WATCH | Delhi | On Congress MP Shashi Tharoor invited to the President’s banquet organised in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, Congress leader Pawan Khera says, “It’s quite surprising that an invitation was sent and the invitation was accepted also.… pic.twitter.com/Zd46l3L1HJ— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2025
Khera also accused the government of breaking protocols and undermining democratic principles. “There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi… This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” he said.
Tharoor, who is the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, defended his decision to attend, noting that there was a tradition of inviting the chairperson of the committee to such events. “It has been resumed …I have been invited, yes. I will definitely go,” he said.
On the LoPs reportedly not being invited, Tharoor added, “I don’t know on what basis invitations were sent. I think the custom that usually used to be followed was for a wide representation. Certainly, I remember in the olden days, they used to invite not only the LoPs, (but) various other cross section of representatives of different parties. It conveys a good impression.”
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government instructs visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition, citing insecurity.
“Normally the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji’s time, Manmohan Singh ji’s time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the government suggests to them to not meet the LoP,” he said ahead of Putin’s two-day visit.
(With inputs from PTI)
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 05, 2025, 19:06 IST
Read More
