Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said he was stunned by the news of registration of a murder case by the Delhi Police in connection with the death of his wife, Sunanda Pushkar, but his party colleagues in Kerala did not seem to be sharing the shock.
The CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF and the BJP were quick to demand that Tharoor should resign as MP and face probe. “I am stunned to hear that the Delhi Police has filed a case of murder against unknown persons in the demise of my late wife Sunanda. Needless to say I am anxious to see this case is investigated thoroughly, and (I) continue to assure the police of my full cooperation,” Tharoor said in a statement.
“We have not been provided copies of the postmortem report and other reports of the enquiry like the CFSl report till date. We repeat our request for a copy of these reports to be provided to us immediately,” he added.
The Congress MP said, “Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and that the unvarnished truth should come out.” However, his Congress collegues in Kerala adopted a stoic posture asserting that law should take its course. Almost like the Congress high command, they refused to say anything concrete in support of or against Tharoor.
Tharoor, undergoing Ayurvedic treatment at a facility in Thrissur, reacted to the registration of the FIR for murder under IPC Section 302 over the death of Sunanda through a Facebook post which was later issued as a Press statement. Sources said that he will continue to remain under treatment for two more days.
“What is there in this for me to reactIJ” asked Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy when newsmen sought his response to the development. But one senior Congress leader, known for his rough talking style, said that the Congress will be the first to react toughly if any link found between Sunanda’s death and Tharoor was established.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan asked the Congress to remove Tharoor as MP. “Tharoor has to undergo serious legal procedures. It is not proper for the Congress to allow such a person to continue in the capacity of MP and therefore that party should show the boldness to remove him,” Achuthanandan said.
“The Congress, which had made Tharoor a candidate and an MP by betraying the people of Thiruvananthapuram constituency, should apologise to Keralites,” State BJP president V Muraleedharan said. Stating that the Centre had not acted with political intentions in the matter, former Kerala BJP chief PS Sreedharan Pillai said the new development meant victory for law.
Observers say that Shashi Tharoor, who was parachuted into Thiruvananthapuram lok Sabha constituency as Congress candidate in 2009 and re-fielded in 2014 despite stiff objections from State leaders, does not have many friends in the State Congress but the leadership here is unlikely to take sides for the time being.
Sources in the Congress leadership made it clear that they did not want to cast aspersions on Tharoor in connection with Sunanda’s “murder” but they would toe the line adopted by the party high command that the probe by the Delhi Police was only in the initial stage and that it should be fair and transparent.
“I don’t think there is any need for Tharoor to resign as MP. However, it is up to the party leadership to take a decision on the matter,” said State Congress spokesman Pandalam Sudhakaran. It was surprising to note that not many Congress leaders saw political colour in the Delhi Police’s confirmation that Sunanda was murdered.
In fact, the State Congress does not want Tharoor to resign at this juncture as it would create serious political problems for it, especially in the Thiruvananthapuram lok Sabha constituency if a by-poll was to be held, say observers.