Tharoor skips key Congress meet, party MP says 'he's not a big part': 'Nahi dikhe toh...'

Shashi Tharoor

• Shashi Tharoor skipped a key Congress poll meeting, citing prior commitments
• Tharoor avoided discussing party issues at the Kerala Literature Festival.
• Congress MP Masood downplays Tharoor's absence, calls him "not a big part"

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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, amid reports that he is upset with senior party leader Rahul Gandhi over an alleged lack of due respect during the latter’s visit to Kerala last week, on Friday, skipped a key meeting held to prepare for the Assembly election later this year.

Following that, Congress MP Imran Masood on Saturday downplayed Tharoor's absence and said that "he is not a big part". "Nahi dikhe toh nahi dikhe. Aisa kuch nahi hai," he said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

#WATCH | Sitapur, UP: On Congress MP Shashi Tharoor missing the poll-related meeting with party leadership and attending Kerala Lit Fest, party MP Imran Masood says, "Shashi Tharoor is not a big part. Nahi dikhe toh nahi dikhe, aisa kuch hai nahi." pic.twitter.com/cupIH3wY5u

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2026

Addressing the issue at the Kerala Literature Festival, the four time MP from Thiruvananthapuram said he would not use a public platform to discuss internal party matters. “I am not here to make any political declarations. This is a literary festival. These are issues I need to take up with my own party leadership and not in a public forum,” Tharoor said.

He added that he would be travelling to Delhi for the Parliament session, where he expects an opportunity for a proper and structured conversation with the party leadership. “I have been in Congress for the last 17 years. Whatever has gone wrong needs to be addressed, and it will be addressed in the appropriate forum,” he said.

Tharoor later reiterated that he had already made his position clear on not attending the meeting and would not offer any further public explanation. “The issue has been adequately covered by the media. Some reports may be right, some may not. I will not publicly clarify my reasons,” he said, adding that the party leadership had been informed in advance about his unavailability.