New Delhi, Jan. 24 -- Congress leader Shashi Tharoor skipped a strategy meeting of the party to discuss the upcoming Kerala assembly polls due to prior commitments he had to speak about his latest book 'Sree Narayana Guru' in the Kerala literature festival.

However, Tharoor's absence on Friday comes a few days after he was reportedly 'ignored' by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the party's "Mahapanchayat" organised in Kochi, Kerala, on January 19.

Rahul Gandhi had entered the venue while Tharoor was addressing the Maha Panchayat. While Gandhi, along with KC Venugopal, greeted multiple party leaders, a direct greeting to Tharoor was not given.

Tharoor felt "deeply insulted" as Gandhi mentioned several other leaders on stage but not him,...