By IANS,
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday said all evidences of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor’s alleged “abuse of authority” in connection with an ugly IPL row were in public domain, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should not wait to take action against him.
“Everything is now in the public domain. By abusing his ministerial position and authority, Tharoor ensured that his friend Sunanda Pushkar is richer by Rs.70-75 crore without investing anything,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.
The remarks came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington promised action against Tharoor only after determining facts about the controversy.
“I will get the facts and will take action… if required,” Manmohan Singh told journalists.
Prasad, however, said: “The prime minister should not wait for any evidence against Tharoor for taking action if he is serious about fighting corruption.”
Tharoor’s friend Pushkar reportedly got Rs.70 crore of free equity in the company that led the consortium that got the Indian Premier League’s Kochi franchise.
As the controversy snowballed into a major political row, the Left parties also joined the BJP in demanding Tharoor’s resignation for allegedly helping his friend Pushkar get free equity worth Rs.70 crore in IPL’s Kochi franchise.