New Delhi, April 17 (Inditop.com) The Congress feels that if a united opposition forces Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to defend Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor in parliament over the Indian Premier League (IPL) row, it would be a further embarrassment for the party and the government, party sources said Saturday.
“The party is not in a mood to defend Tharoor. The party also feels that it would be more of an embarrassment for the party and the government if the prime minister is forced to defend Tharoor in parliament on such a murky issue,” a senior Congress leader told Inditop on condition of anonymity.
Tharoor had Friday clarified that he had not misused his official position and his “mentoring” the Kerala consortium of the Kochi IPL franchise was within the “bounds of appropriate conduct”.
He 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 tabled 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.
The Congress leadership is apparently not satisfied with Tharoor’s personal explanation as he did not say anything about his friend Sunanda Pushkar’s share in the Kochi IPL franchise, a party source said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who kept away from the Lok Sabha Friday when the opposition stalled the house proceedings demanding Tharoor’s resignation, has handed over the issue to the prime minister, said a Congress official close to the party chief.
Tharoor’s fate will be decided by the prime minister after he returns to India Saturday evening from Brazil, the sources said.
However, some party members feel the prime minister might let Tharoor continue.
“The PM likes him very much. The only problem is that Tharoor is always creating a headache for him,” another Congress leader close to Tharoor told Inditop.
The prime minister is certainly going to discuss the issue with Sonia Gandhi and also with senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony, both of whom met Tharoor Friday and heard his side of the story.
