The remark caused a stir and appeared to fly in the face of India’s long-stated position on resolving all issues with Pakistan bilaterally and without third-party intervention.
Shashi Tharoor set the cat among the pigeons on Sunday by suggesting in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia should play the role of an interlocutor between India and Pakistan. The remark caused a stir and appeared to fly in the face of India’s long-stated position on resolving all issues with Pakistan bilaterally and without third-party intervention.
But the minister of state for external affairs is likely to get away with it. He has been asked to be a “little more discreet” in his utterances and tweets. The advice was delivered to him over a cup of tea by All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi on Tuesday evening at the AICC headquarters.
The US has been nudging India and Pakistan towards the negotiating table, but from behind the scenes. Tharoor’s advocacy of a role for Saudi Arabia is the first such remark made by a senior Indian functionary.
Tharoor has created a flutter earlier too with his postings on Twitter. His unhappiness at being made to travel economy class was obvious when he referred to it as “cattle class”. The remark upset a lot of people in his party and he had to rush to 10 Janpath to apologise and explain.
Tharoor’s tweets have caused both amusement and embarrassment. However, so far he has been given the benefit of doubt, as most people in the party and the government believe a lot of his problems are a result of his inability adapt to the changed milieu under which he is functioning currently.
“This is not the West, what passes off as humour in the US may not be acceptable here,” a minister said.
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