Putins India visit: Tharoor confirms State dinner attendance as uninvited Rahul calls PM Modi insecure

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India has hit the headlines numerous times, and now it has done so once again, but this time due to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. The veteran party leader has confirmed his attendance at Friday night's State dinner in honour of Putin. However, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have reportedly not been invited to the extremely high-profile dinner.

Tharoor has confirmed his participation in the dinner while speaking to the media outside the Parliament complex. He said he will 'definitely go' as his invitation reflected the courtesy offered to the head of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Notably, neither the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, nor Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was invited to the party. Tharoor said that he did not know "the process followed” while the government invites someone for State dinners.

Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that the government has 'breached all protocols'. He said, that while Rahul Gandhi, other Opposition leaders and Mallikarjun Kharge have not been invited, Tharoor's invitation has "come as a surprise", but he added that "we should not be surprised because this government is used to breaching all protocols."

He added that there is a 'game' being played. Khera alleged that "it's quite surprising that an invitation was sent and the invitation was accepted also." He went to say that "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."

Rahul Gandhi, while speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, accused the Centre of not following 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."

He levelled further allegations at the Centre and said that he visits abroad, the Centre suggests people not to meet the Leader of the Opposition, a fact that he claimed those people themselves told them. Rahul added that "the 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."