Decision on Tharoor likely tomorrow

Slog overs: Politics has its ups and downs, says PM

The fate of controversial Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, which hangs in balance, is likely to be known by Monday morning, before the beginning of the Parliament session.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who returned from his foreign tour on Saturday afternoon, is likely to hold discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday or Monday morning.

Sources close to the prime minister said Singh did not take up the Tharoor issue after his return.

The government will have to decide one way or the other in the face of an unrelenting assault by the united Opposition, which will gear up again on Monday seeking Tharoor’s head.

The Opposition held up the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament on Friday demanding his sacking and a statement from the prime minister. The Opposition MPs did not allow Tharoor to read out his statement.

The prime minister on Saturday chose to tread carefully on the IPL row involving Tharoor. “Politics has its ups and downs,” was all he said on board his special aircraft when asked about his take on Tharoor’s links with the Kochi IPL franchise.

Tharoor had on Friday clarified that he had not misused his official position and that his “mentoring” the Kerala consortium of the Kochi IPL franchise was within the “bounds of appropriate conduct” as an MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

“The ball is in the prime minister’s court,” highly placed party sources said, adding that Singh would be having relevant information regarding the Kochi IPL ownership controversy to take a decision in the matter.

Back on Twitter
Tharoor, who has courted controversies by tweeting, was back on the social networking site thanking the “new India” for the support and good wishes. Tharoor, who unusually remained silent on Twitter for the last two days, said: “Sorry for long silence, been overwhelmed..... Thanks for all the support & good wishes. U (you) folks are the new India. We will ‘be the change’ we wish to see in our country. But not w’out (without) pain!.”

Shashi Tharoor also posted the link to his “personal explanation” on the controversy, saying that had the Opposition allowed him to speak on the issue in Parliament, this is what he would have said.