Kerala shocked at Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor's death, Opposition demands inquiry

Thiruvananthapuram: The news of union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar death in Delhi has sent shockwaves across Kerala.

Married in Kerala's Pallakad district in 2010, the couple was last seen together in few public functions over the weekend in Thiruvananthapuram, from where Mr Tharoor is an MP. People present in those functions said the couple smiled at each other, seemed happy and interacted with all present.

"It is shocking news that his wife is no more. I offer my condolences to him," said Santosh Sahadevan, a Tharoor loyalist.

Sources within a leading hospital in Kerala have been telling NDTV that Mr Tharoor and his wife met doctors as part of her recent check-up but the doctors for now are tight lipped about the reports, perhaps a crucial link to understand what happened last night.

Even as several families heard this news on their dinner tables, the Opposition in Kerala was quick to react. While extending their condolences, the Communist Party of India has demanded a detailed inquiry.

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Earlier, the CPI(M) had demanded an investigation by the Intelligence Bureau based upon Sunanda Tharoor's tweets from Mr Tharoor's Twitter handle alleging his 'affair' with a Pakistan-based journalist, whom she claimed was an "ISI agent." The BJP had demanded Mr Tharoor resignation, after Mrs Tharoor's tweet on the Indian Premier League (IPL) controversy.

"At the backdrop of all the tweet fiasco it is important for a detailed inquiry and should be headed by a sitting judge," Pannyan Ravindran from the CPI said.

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The Congress in Kerala has been silent till now since most senior leaders are in Delhi. Meanwhile, the security cover in and around Mr Tharoor's residence and office in Thiruvananthapuram has been beefed up.