By IANS,
New Delhi : Shashi Tharoor, the former minister of state for external affairs who quit over the Indian Premier League (IPL) row, was conspicuous by his absence in parliament Monday.
As parliament began at 11 a.m., mediapersons waiting for the former minister, who stepped down late Sunday, were disappointed when the MP from Thiruvananthapuram did not turn up.
The former UN diplomat did not attend question hour either.
“He is not at home… Has gone out with someone,” one of his aides said when IANS contacted his residence at Lodhi Estate.
Mediapersons keen to talk to the former minister had gathered outside his official bungalow, but the gates remained shut.
Tharoor, whose 11-month-long tenure was embroiled in controversies, resigned Sunday night after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the core committee of the Congress party found that his continuance could cause more embarrassment to the party.
Tharoor Friday had put up a spirited defence of himself in the Lok Sabha, claiming he had done no wrong and not used his office to promote the interest of close friend Sunanda Pushkar. The Dubai-based businesswoman got sweat equity worth Rs.7 crore in Rendezvous Sports World, a member of the consortium that won the IPL Kochi franchise.
On Sunday, Pushkar announced that she was giving up her stake in the IPL franchise.
The controversy began after IPL commissioner Lalit K. Modi said on his twitter account that Tharoor had asked him to suppress information about Pushkar getting a stake in the IPL Kochi franchise.