Amid demands for sacking of Shashi Tharoor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said he could not go by "hearsay" and any action, if necessary, would be taken in the matter only after he checks "all the facts" regarding allegations against the Minister of State.
"I have heard about these things (allegations against Tharoor). I do not have all the facts before me," Singh said at a press conference here when asked about demands for the minister's removal in the wake of the controversy around Kochi IPL team.
"When I go back, 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. I cannot go by hearsay or what is appearing in the various columns of the newspapers," the Prime Minister said.
He was addressing the press before winding up his four-day visit to the US where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit. From Washington, Singh will head for Brasilia in the second leg of the two-nation tour for the Brazil-Russia- India-China (BRIC) and India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summits.
Tharoor is battling allegations that a beautician romantically linked to him had received Rs 70-crore free equity in Kochi IPL team, which he helped set up. PTI
