Tharoor's fate hangs in balance, to meet PM today

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set to return from abroad on Saturday, Congress has indicated 'all is not well' still with Shashi Tharoor and that his fate lies in Singh's hands. Shashi Tharoor will meet the Prime Minister to apprise him of the situation. Tharoor's statement in LS | HT Blogs: It's Tharoor’s cricket versus Pawar’s

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set to return from abroad on Saturday, Congress has indicated 'all is not well' still with Shashi Tharoor and that his fate lies in Singh's hands. Shashi Tharoor will meet the Prime Minister to apprise him of the situation.

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"The ball is in the Prime Minister's court", highly placed party sources said adding that Singh would be having the relevant information as regards the Kochi IPL ownership controversy to take a decision in the matter.

The stand of the party is significant as it came hours after the Minister of State for External Affairs' personal explanation in the Lok Sabha and opposition parties remaining unrelenting in their demand for his resignation.

Sidestepping questions whether the Tharoor issue was a closed chapter and if he was out of the woods, they said the Congress has already made its position clear by distancing itself from the controversy involving the Union Minister.

Besides, the sources emphasised that Tharoor's meeting with party chief Sonia Gandhi was just to put his side of the story before her. "Gandhi just gave him a patient hearing," the sources said implying that the meeting does not mean the Minister has got a reprieve.

A senior minister who did not want to be quoted said Tharoor was a "live bomb" for the party.

Meanwhile, BJP has demanded that the Prime Minister explain to Parliament why the Union Minister has not stepped down and sought a "structured debate" on the issue.