Embattled Minister of state for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor hit back at his critics on Friday night, tweeting:
“Thanks for all the support & good wishes. U folks are the new India. We will “be the change” we wish to see in our country. But not w'out pain!”
Congress sources said the party was awaiting the return of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from his tour abroad on Saturday evening after which he will take a call on Tharoor's continuation in the government. Senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony will meet the PM on his return to discuss the Tharoor issue.
But sources said it appeared that the leadership no longer wanted to risk the Congress image for what increasingly looked like a case of individual interest.
Congress sources said Tharoor's explanation in Lok Sabha, though vetted by senior party leaders, failed to cut ice with his defence of close friend Sunanda Pushkar in the row over the Kochi IPL franchise, says an Indian Express report.
“Do you expect the Prime Minister to defend anything that is not above board?” a Minister remarked. The mood in the party was evident from the silence of the treasury benches when the Opposition created an uproar in Lok Sabha, preventing Tharoor from reading his explanation.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who had heard out Tharoor a day earlier, was absent from the House when he rose to defend himself.
Party floor managers in Parliament are also worried that Tharoor's continuation could make their task difficult at a time when the government needs the cooperation of the Opposition to pass the Finance Bill and on legislations like the women's reservation Bill and civil nuclear liability Bill.
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