Tharoor may get Congress respite, not opposition

Shashi Tharoor, the man at the centre of a political storm over the IPL Kochi franchise, may get some reprieve from the Congress party but the Opposition gunning for his removal is in no mood to provide any solace.

Parliament is expected to witness uproar on the issue involving the Minister of State for External Affairs  tomorrow with opposition parties tabling notices on their intention to rake up the issue.

The 54-year-old minister, battling allegations that he misused his office to get 'free' equity worth Rs70 crore for his friend Sunanda Pushkar in the Kochi franchise, today met Congress president Sonia Gandhi "briefly" at her residence.

Earlier he had a second meeting in two days with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and defence minister AK Antony on the raging controversy revolving around his involvement in the Kochi team.

Party sources said that Tharoor may get a respite in the matter, at least for the time being, against the backdrop of accusations that Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had got together to take the Kochi bid away to Ahmedabad.

"How can we take any action at a time when the BJP will get the advantage and put us in a tight corner," remarked a party leader on condition of anonymity.

The Congress strategy appears to be that Tharoor should be given the benefit of doubt on the principle of "innocent till found guilty".

"Let all facts come out, then the party will react," said party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed to reporters at the AICC briefing, reflecting the line of prime minister Manmohan Singh, who made his position clear in Washington yesterday.

Notices have been given in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha by several parties including the  BJP, Left and SP on the Tharoor issue. 

The three parties have been gunning for his removal from the government on grounds of misuse of office and corruption.

The BJP had reacted to the prime minister's statement that he will take action against Tharoor only after knowing "all the facts" of the case, saying all details were now in the public domain and there should be no delay in the matter.

SP today joined the chorus of the demand for Tharoor's sacking from government, saying that he has been "exposed" in the IPL Kochi bid controversy.  CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said Tharoor should step down immediately and the government should investigate the whole issue.

Tharoor said he is open to making a statement in Lok Sabha on the issue of the Kochi IPL ownership controversy if asked to do so.

When asked whether he will be making any statement on the issue, Tharoor said that nobody has so far directed him to do so.

At the same time, he indicated that he is open to it.