Congress MP Shashi Dharur attended Putin's dinner as the chairman of the parliamentary committee.

The official dinner hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan in honor of Russian President Putin sparked political controversy as opposition leaders were not invited. Opposition parties alleged it was intentional, while senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor surprisingly attended, creating internal unrest within his party. Senior leaders expressed disapproval, while BJP questioned what the problem was for Congress.

In a media interview, Tharoor explained that as the Parliamentary Committee Chairman, it was his duty to attend. He noted that understanding the event’s atmosphere and international relations was beneficial. He described the dinner as excellent and clarified that seeking government support for his constituency should not be linked to the event. Tharoor emphasized that serving the public remains his political responsibility.