New Delhi, April 16 (Inditop.com) Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Friday clarified that he had not misused his official position and his “mentoring” the Kerala consortium of the Kochi Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise was within the “bounds of appropriate conduct”.
Tharoor, at the centre of a row for alleged involvement in the Kochi franchise, said in a written statement: “My role in mentoring the Kerala consortium was within the bounds of appropriate conduct for an MP from Thiruvananthapuram.”
Tharoor was forced to lay the statement in the Lok Sabha after opposition members created a ruckus over the row alleging that the minister had misused his official position to help his friend Sunanda Pushkar get sweat equity worth Rs.70 crore in the IPL Kochi franchise.
Tharoor could not read out the statement with opposition MPs, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gathered near Speaker Meira Kumar’s podium, creating noisy scenes.
The speaker then adjourned the house till 2 p.m.