Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was again absent from a meeting of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs chaired by Rahul Gandhi on Friday, extending a pattern of non-attendance that has drawn internal attention in recent weeks.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, already under scrutiny for remarks viewed by some colleagues as favourable to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has now missed three consecutive key meetings of the Congress’ parliamentary strategy groups.

Party sources said Tharoor had informed the leadership of his unavailability in advance. Chandigarh MP Manish Tiwari was also absent. Tharoor’s public schedule showed he was in Kolkata on Thursday night for an event hosted by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, suggesting he may not have returned to Delhi in time for Friday’s meeting.

Tharoor’s latest absence

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