New Delhi, April 16 (Inditop.com) Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor clarified Friday 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”.
“No misuse of my official position was involved,” Tharoor, who is at the centre of a row for alleged involvement in the Kochi franchise of the Indian Premier League, said in a written statement.
“My role in mentoring the Kerala consortium was throughout within the bounds of appropriate conduct for a Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram and a member of the union council of ministers.”
Tharoor was forced to lay the statement in the Lok Sabha after protesting MPs 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 forcing the presiding officer to adjourn the house till 2 p.m.
According to the minister: “The unexpected success of the Kerala consortium was apparently not acceptable to some interested parties…” This led to allegations about the composition and ownership of the consortium and his role in it.
He said the issue had nothing to do with his ministry. “As a minister, I was in no position to influence the bid process, let alone its outcome. I did not grant any favours or benefits within the purview of my ministry to the members of the consortium.
“No one could have any idea what the various participants in the auction process would bid, and my official position gave me no advantage in this regard that could have been used to benefit the Kerala bid. Indeed my ministerial position was altogether irrelevant to the bid and so could not have been used or misused to ensure its success.”
Tharoor later read out the statement to the media outside Parliament House.
rounak