New Delhi:
Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday night met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony as the controversy surrounding him in the IPL snowballed with opposition demanding his sacking.
Tharoor, who earlier in the evening ruled out his resignation on the IPL issue saying that he has not done anything wrong or misused office, met the two Ministers at Mukherjee's residence for nearly an hour after which he left without speaking to waiting reporters.
After Pranab-Antony-Tharoor meeting, sources say Tharoor has been asked to clarify position in Parliament. There will be no action against him for now but he will have to defend himself.
The BJP has decided to raise the issue on Thursday saying that the nation is not satisfied with Tharoor's explanation.
Shashi Tharoor was summoned to meet senior the Congress leader regarding his link to the Kochi Indian Premier League (IPL) team, which has resulted in allegations of corruption.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met with senior party leaders to discuss the controversy ahead of Thursday's parliament session where the BJP plans to raise the issue. (
Read: IPL controversy: Sonia meets Cong leaders)
In Washington, the Prime Minister, who was attending President Obama's nuclear security summit, said he would take any action, if required, after he returned. "I do not know the facts," said Manmohan Singh, adding that he could not go by what the media was reporting on the issue. (
Read: Need facts first: PM on action against Tharoor)
There has been much to report on, in fact. Allegations of corruption, a cover-up, and now, a death threat received via SMS - a Ram Gopal Verma movie has nothing on what's being delivered everyday in the Tharoor vs Lalit Modi battle. (
Read: I am not a proxy for Tharoor: Sunanda Pushkar) (
Read: Who is Sunanda Pushkar?)
On Wednesday, a senior member of Tharoor's staff claimed that the minister has received a death threat via SMS in connection with his alleged link to the Kochi IPL team. The aide said that Tharoor's security has been tightened and that the police has been alerted. (
Read: Tharoor received death threat SMS, says aide)
The Ministry of Home Affairs, and Delhi police sources, however, denied receiving any complaint from the minister's office, or of giving him additional security.
Tharoor is at the centre of a controversy over the IPL team that was sold to Kochi last month for Rs 1,530 crores. A close associate of Tharoor's,
Sunanda Pushkar, was gifted equity worth 70 crores by the team-owners. This was revealed by Lalit Modi, IPL Commissioner, in tweets on Monday.
Sources in the Income Tax Department confirm that a formal inquiry is now checking out the source of funds of Rendezvous Sports World, the group that bought the Kochi team.
The BJP has demanded that the Prime Minister sack Tharoor for inappropriate "patronage and protection". The BJP alleges that Pushkar was a front for Tharoor, and that the CBI must investigate Tharoor for "criminal misconduct by a public servant" in what it describes as "a copybook case of corruption."
The Left has joined in with a statement released on Wednesday in which the CPM said, "It is highly inappropriate for a minister in the Union government to be involved in such murky dealings...It is incumbent upon Mr Tharoor to step down from office till his name is cleared of any unethical or irregular behaviour."
The Prime Minister, who was in Washington for President Obama's nuclear safety summit, told reporters that any action, if required, would be taken only after he returns to India and investigates the matter. Dr Manmohan Singh said "I do not have all the facts before me." (
Read: Need facts first: PM on action against Tharoor)
In a press release on Tuesday, Tharoor acknowledged that he knows Pushkar well, but denied that he benefits financially from the Kochi team. He, in turn, accuses Modi of being unhappy with the fact that the Kochi bid won over other bids from Ahmedabad, a franchise which Modi allegedly preferred.
On Tuesday, the Congress first said that the BJP's request for Tharoor's dismissal was "absurd." But within hours, the party changed its stand and said that the IPL controversy was a personal affair of Tharoor's and that he should explain his role. (
Read: Sack Tharoor, says BJP; Congress keeps distance)
Modi has also been criticized, both by the Kochi team-owners, and by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for tweeting the details of the different stake-holders in the consortium that bought the Kochi franchise. While the Kochi owners have threatened to take legal action against him, the BCCI President, Shashank Manohar, has warned him that cricket issues should not be discussed publicly. The BCCI has also called a special meeting to discuss the controversy.
Political analysts suggest that the Congress is wearying of the multiple controversies it's been landed with, courtesy Tharoor. Last year, his tweets describing economy air travel as flying "cattle-class" left his party blushing, given that Sonia Gandhi had directed ministers to fly coach as part of the government's austerity drive. Tharoor was forced to explain his statement to Gandhi and the Prime Minister.
He then offended his boss, Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna, when he took to Twitter again to discuss his reservations about the new visa policies the government was introducing for foreigners.
Through it all, Tharoor has defended his penchant for tweeting as a unique way of staying in touch with voters. (
Read: Tharoor on IPL controversy)