NEW DELHI: Congress leaders on Friday launched a broadside against its Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor after he was invited for the Presidential dinner for Putin, while the government did not extend invites to Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.Congress leader Pawan Khera said that members of Congress should understand the “game being played” by the Center and should not be a part of it.“Those who issued such an invitation also raise many questions. And those who accepted the invitation are also open to scrutiny,” Khera said.“Everyone has their own conscience, their own inner voice. Had we been invited instead of our leaders, it is clear that we would not have accepted it. We should understand why the game is being played, who is playing the game, and why we shouldn’t be part of it,” he added.This comes after Thiruvananthapuram MP confirmed that he has been invited to the dinner and said that he will “definitely go.”“There was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited. That practice seems to have been stopped for some years. It has been resumed, I think because I’ve been invited,” Tharoor said.“I think, frankly, the custom that usually used to be followed was for a wide representation. Certainly. I remember in the old days we used to have not only the LoPs, we used to have various other cross section of representatives of different parties. And I think it conveys a good impression. This is all done by the government, by the protocol, by the Rashapati Bhavan. What do I know? All I can say is I’ve been honored to be invited. Of course, I will go,” he added.Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that Rahul and Kharge were invited to the event.“There has been speculation whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha have been invited for tonight’s official dinner in honor of President Putin,” he wrote in social media post on X.“The two LoPs have not been invited,” he added.Veteran Congress leader Salman Khurshid also attacked the government, claiming that the move is not in accordance with democratic traditions and the system.“I believe this is not in accordance with democratic traditions and the system. Even opposition leaders have not received the respect they deserve,” he said.This comes a day after Rahul had accused the Center of barring foreign dignitaries from meeting the opposition leaders.Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Rahul expressed displeasure and alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the opposition due to its “insecurity”.“Generally, the tradition has been that whoever visits India, the LoP used to have a meeting. It used to happen in the Vajpayee government, the Manmohan Singh government. But this is not the case now,”Rahul had said.“Whenever I visit abroad, they suggest that those people shouldn’t meet the LoP. People told us we have been informed not to meet the LoP. LoP provides a second perspective; we also represent India, but the government doesn’t want us to meet foreign dignitaries. PM Modi and the foreign ministry do not follow this now because of insecurity,” he added.Putin is on a 2-day visit to India. Following his arrival at the Palam Airport, PM Modi welcomed Putin with a hug. Both leaders shared the same car ride to Lok Kalyan Marg residence of the Prime Minister Modi where Putin was gifted a copy of the sacred Bhagwad Gita.Putin was also welcomed by President Droupadi Murmu as he received a ceremonial welcome and the tri-services guard of honor at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.The ceremonial welcome was accorded at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, following which, Putin inspected the Guard of Honour.
