Having escaped serious reprimand from the party high command despite repeated gaffes, it appears that Tharoor would not be bailed out by the party high command from his latest row over the Kochi franchise of Indian Premier League.
The Congress leadership may finally lose its patience with MoS for external affairs Shashi Tharoor.
Having escaped serious reprimand from the party high command despite repeated gaffes, it appears that Tharoor would not be bailed out by the party high command from his latest row over the Kochi franchise of Indian Premier League.
With Lok Sabha reconvening on Thursday for the budget session, the party is worried that the Tharoor issue could become a liability for the Congress-led UPA, especially at a time when other controversial issues such as rising food prices, women’s reservation and nuclear liability bills already threaten to make the session disruptive.
The BJP and Left parties have already demanded Tharoor’s resignation from the Union cabinet.
Congress sources said the controversy surrounding Tharoor was discussed at a meeting of senior party leaders convened by party president Sonia Gandhi at her residence on Wednesday evening. The Congress president discussed the party’s floor strategy for the parliament session with Union ministers Pranab Muk-herjee, AK Antony, P Chidam-baram, Pawan Bansal and political secretary Ahmed Patel.
Mukherjee had summoned Tharoor on Wednesday night to explain his stand. AK Antony was also present.
Meanwhile, Tharoor has also sought an appointment with the Congress president and the prime minister to explain his stand on the issue.
A final decision on Tharoor’s fate in the cabinet would be taken after prime minister Manmohan Singh returns to New Delhi on Saturday. “I have heard about these things [allegations against Tharoor]. I do not have all the facts before me. When I go back, I will get all the facts, and in the light of those, if any action is necessary, I think that would be the proper way to proceed (sic),” Singh said in Washington on Wednesday. The party has also said it will “take a view after all the facts are out”.
It remains unclear if Tharoor would be dropped from the cabinet in the coming days, as doing so could be seen as having given in to the Opposition’s pressure. However, party sources say that the minister may be asked to resign to save the party from further embarrassment. Whether the issue of resigning came up during Tharoor’s discussion with Mukherjee could not be confirmed. Tharoor, however, has ruled out resigning. He has said that all allegations against him are motivated.
A party leader pointed out that with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi being sticklers for probity, strong action against Tharoor may be in the offing, particularly since his latest controversy involved issues like moral turpitude and financial dealings. “When it comes to issues of impropriety, Sonia and Rahul have little patience. If the case goes against Tharoor, he’ll be in for a severe reprimand,” a senior AICC functionary said.
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