Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi not invited to Putin banquet, Shashi Tharoor attending

New Delhi: Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have not been invited to the banquet for Russian PresidentPresidentPresident Vladimir Putin, said Congress on Friday, 05 December 2025. The party took a jibe at its own MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting the invite.

“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 honour of President Putin. The two LoPs have not been invited,” said Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh.

Pawan Khera, Congress’s media and publicity department head, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles. “There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don’t think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” he told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event.