Tharoor plays Kerala card, says not at fault

New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Friday clarified that he had not misused his official position and his "mentoring" the Kerala consortium of the Kochi Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise was within the "bounds of appropriate conduct".

Tharoor, at the centre of a row for alleged involvement in the Kochi franchise, said in a written statement: "My role in mentoring the Kerala consortium was within the bounds of appropriate conduct for an MP from Thiruvananthapuram."

Tharoor was forced to lay the statement in the Lok Sabha after Opposition members created a ruckus over the row, alleging that the minister had misused his official position to help his friend Sunanda Pushkar get sweat equity worth Rs.70 crore in the IPL Kochi franchise.

Tharoor could not read out the statement with Opposition MPs, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gathered near Speaker Meira Kumar's podium, creating noisy scenes. The speaker then adjourned the house till 2 p.m.

Earlier, Tharoor had failed to get a clean chit from Congress President Sonia Gandhi despite a number of meetings with Sonia and senior party leaders Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony on Thursday.

CNN-IBN has learnt that Sonia met Tharoor for five minutes and then asked top Cabinet ministers to probe if Tharoor had financially benefitted from the Kochi IPL deal. She is said to have instructed Pranab to defend Tharoor in Parliament as a final decision on him will be taken only after the PM returns.

Oppn baying for Tharoor's blood:

The Opposition BJP has demanded Question Hour to be suspended to start a discussion on Tharoor and his links with the IPL team Kochi during Zero Hours in the Parliament on Friday.

Congress leaders went into a huddle to formulate a strategy to save the beleaguered minister. Pranab who is also heading the Tharoor probe committee, and Antony were present in the meeting.

The Opposition's notice on financial impropriety is likely to be accepted Friday for a discussion. The Congress party maintains it is waiting for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to return to take a final call on the issue. Both BJP and the Left have been clamouring for Tharoor's resignation. Tharoor is likely to give a statement in Parliament on the issue.