Congress Working Committee member and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor is unlikely to participate in the Palestine solidarity rally being organized by his party in Kozhikode on 23 November. Tharoor’s name was not included in the programme’s inaugural or keynote speakers.

It has been reported that KPCC President K Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan are of the opinion that Tharoor should not be invited to the rally in the context of a controversy triggered by his speech at the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) rally in Kozhikode last month.

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Senior Congress leader K Muralidharan and UDF Convenor MM Hassan also hold the same view. K Muraleedharan said it is up to the organizers to decide whether Tharoor should participate in the rally or not. He said Tharoor’s statement in the Muslim League rally is causing problems to the party.

Speaking at a rally organised by Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kozhikode on 26 October, Tharoor called Hamas a terrorist outfit. “On October 7, terrorists attacked Israel, killed 1,400 people and took 200 hostages. In answer to that, Israel has so far killed 6,000 people. They have stopped the supply of food, water and fuel to Gaza,” Tharoor said

Tharoor calling Hamas a terrorist outfit triggered a row in Kerala. Facing an intense social media attack, Tharoor issued a clarification, saying he had always been with the people of Palestine and he does not agree with the propagation of just one sentence from his speech at the IUML rally.

AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal will inaugurate the rally in Kozhikode on 23 November and KPCC President K Sudhakaran will preside over it. V D Satheesan, Muslim League state president Sadiqali Shihab Thangal and IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty are the speakers for the occasion.