“You are being premature and hurried. Why can’t you wait for the PM to take a considered view in the matter,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said. He side-stepped questions on whether the party was satisfied with the personal explanation of Mr Tharoor, who had dismissed allegations against him on the IPL issue as “baseless, ill-founded and ill-motivated”.
[Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking on board Air India One on Saturday, appeared unperturbed by the uproar created by the Opposition in Parliament over the Tharoor controversy, PTI reports. “In politics, ups and downs keep happening,” Dr Singh said when asked specifically about the uproar in Parliament. He did not elaborate.]
“The Prime Minister has also said some days ago in the US that he would look into the facts before taking a decision. He has only just arrived. I don’t think it is fair not to give him sufficient time. Let him look into the matter, let us not be impatient. Let us not expect instant answers,” he said.
Responding to a volley of questions on whether Mr Tharoor would continue in the Council of Ministers, Mr Singhvi merely said, “We will respond after fully going into details. Since the PM has clearly said that he will take a decision after going through the facts, it would not be proper to make any pre-conjecture on the issue before his decision.”
Asked whether the party agreed with Mr Tharoor’s explanations, Mr Singhvi said, “We don’t go into the merits of that.” He, however, downplayed Union minister Farooq Abdullah’s statement that Mr Tharoor should step down to protect the “honour” of the government, saying he was talking about what he would do in a similar situation.
Mr Singhvi also pleaded ignorance when asked whether finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has submitted any report to party chief Sonia Gandhi on the Tharoor issue.
To another query, on the BJP threatening to disrupt Parliament over the issue, he said, “Repeatedly adjourning Parliament over an issue which can be decided in the near future, after the PM takes a call on it, will only expose them. It only proves that they are not interested in going into facts or giving the PM sufficient time. This shows that they are indulging in a political stunt.” He also sought to draw a comparison between his party and the BJP, saying, “There is great difference in the way the Congress responded to the issue and the earlier responses of the BJP on the Tehelka scam and the cash-on-camera scam.”
The Tharoor issue has united the BJP and the Left parties, which plan to intensify their attack on the Centre in Parliament next week if the PM refuses to drop the minister. The Congress and the government have been maintaining a distance from Mr Tharoor ever since the controversy began. The PM will consult with Mrs Gandhi before taking any decision on this issue.
Age Correspondent