Soon after Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s intervention, party leader Shashi Tharoor yesterday declined the invitation of the CPI-M to attend its national seminar to be held next month.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said: “I regret that some preferred the unseemly public airing of internal differences, thereby creating a needless controversy in a matter in which AICC’s view was binding. I hope wisdom will prevail in future.”<\/p>\n
Justifying his openness to attend the seminar, Tharoor said the topic for the seminar “does not involve any matter of sensitivity in Kerala but was on ‘Centre-state relations’, where there is no real difference of opinion between our parties”.<\/p>\n
He said he respects the views of the party President and has conveyed the organisers his inability to participate.<\/p>\n
Tharoor also highlighted that a month ago, a similar invitation was extended for a seminar on the sidelines of the CPI-M state party conference. “On that occasion also, I consulted the AICC President and a suitable decision was taken without any media controversy,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gandhi yesterday asked the senior party leader to refrain from attending the CPI-M seminar to be held in April, directing him to listen to the Kerala leadership.<\/p>\n
The development came after he joined a meeting of Congress “rebels”, apparently ditching the Congress’s Kerala unit by planning to attend the Left’s seminar.<\/p>\n
As per sources, Congress leaders from Kerala met Gandhi at the party’s parliamentary office in Delhi to intimate her of the “embarrassing” development.<\/p>\n
Congress’ Kerala state chief K. Sudhakaran had said that the state party has issued a ban on party leaders participating in the national seminar to be organised by the CPI-M as part of its national conference at Kannur and if anyone violates the bar, they would have to face party action.<\/p>\n
The CPI-M’s 23rd party Congress will be held at the red fort of Kannur from April 6 to April 10, and the national seminar will be held during it.<\/p>\n
The Left party had invited Tharoor and former Union Minister K.V. Thomas, who also hails from the state, for the seminar on national politics. The Congress had, however, issued a statement that no Congress leader must participate in the CPI-M seminar as the party is in a fight against the CPI-M due to the “anti-people policies” of the Left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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