New Delhi, Dec. 1 -- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday clarified that he did not intentionally skip the Congress strategic group meeting held a day earlier, stating that he was on a flight returning from Kerala when the meeting took place.

Responding to questions on his absence, the Lok Sabha MP said, "I did not skip it; I was on a plane, coming from Kerala."

Tharoor's absence from Sunday's meeting--chaired by Sonia Gandhi to discuss the party's strategy for the Winter Session--had drawn attention within political circles, especially given that he had also missed the Congress meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue earlier, citing ill health.

According to Tharoor's office, the MP was travelling with his 90-year-old mot...