New Delhi/IBNS, Dec. 1 -- Senior Congress leaderShashi Tharoor's uneasy relationship with the party high command appears to be reaching a critical point.

The four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram has skipped two consecutive key party meetings, fuelling speculation about his future in the Congress amid increasingly sharp exchanges with some colleagues.

The timing has raised eyebrows as well.

'Was in a plane'

Tharoor, however, has brushed aside the growing chatter, insisting that he did not deliberately avoid the meeting but missed it because he was in Kerala attending to his elderly mother.

The latest meeting, held last evening at Sonia Gandhi's residence, brought together top Congress figures-including party president Mallikarjun Khar...