Tharoor rules out resignation

New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) Caught in a storm over his role
in Kochi IPL franchise, Union Minister Shashi Tharoor
Wednesday dug his heels saying he would not not quit office
even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he would take
action in the matter if warranted.
Allegations flew thick and fast during another day of
high drama which included a claim by Tharoor's personal staff
that he had received a threatening call from Dawood Ibrahim
gang asking him to drop out of Kochi team. In the end it
turned out that the call had been made from Delhi for which
one person was detained tonight.
Tharoor's friend Sunanda Pushkar, who is getting sweat
equity worth about Rs 70 crore from the Kochi franchisee which
has touched off the controversy, broke her silence and lashed
out at the media for "haunting" the minister and reducing her
to a "caricature".
Amid mounting pressure from the Opposition, mainly the
BJP and Left parties, that Tharoor should resign, the Minister
said, "I am not not going to resign. Obviously I am not
going to be an embarrassment to the party. These are false
and motivated charges levelled by business interests of some
vested interests."
As a fresh controversy exploded in the government's
face, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated to reporters in
Washington that he could take action if warranted.
"I have heard about these things (allegations against
Tharoor. I do not not have all the facts before me. When I
go back (on Satuday), I will get all the facts and in the
light of those, if any action is necessary, I think that would
be the proper way to proceed," he said.
The Congress core group headed by Sonia Gandhi met in
the evening and is understood to have discussed the strategy
in Parliament which resumes second phase of the budget
session.
After the meeting, Finance Minister Pranab
Mukerjee called Tharoor to meet him amidst speculation that
the party might have decided on some course of action to avoid
any embarrassment in the Indian Parliament. (More) PTI PYK
MRD


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