New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has reportedly received a death threat from the gang of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Sources say Tharoor got an SMS from one Shakeel of D-company asking him to stay clear of Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi.
Tharoor's OSD Jacob Joseph said that Union Home Ministry has been informed about the SMS threat to minister. The death threat issue is being investigated by the Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police Special Cell.
Police say the threat SMS has been traced to Hari Nagar in West Delhi.
Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing tussle between Tharoor and Modi over the ownership of Kochi team. Sources say the Congress President is ascertaining the facts about the issue before taking a stand on Tharoor who has been involved in a bitter war of words with Modi.
The Tharoor vs Modi battle has also given the Opposition parties a chance to target the Union Government. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it is the turn of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to demand that Tharoor be sacked from the Union Ministry over the IPL controversy.
The CPI-M issued a statement on Wednesday demanding that Tharoor should step down till his name is cleared.
"It is incumbent upon Mr. Tharoor to step down from office till his name is cleared of any unethical or irregular behaviour. The involvement of Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, in the Indian Premier League franchise for the Kochi team has raised a number of questions. It now transpires that a person associated with him has got 19 per cent free equity worth Rs 70 crore in the company that led the consortium which got the franchise," said the CPI-M in a statement.
"The IPL is not just a sporting event, but is a big business enterprise in which big money is involved. It is highly inappropriate for a minister in the Union government to be involved in such murky dealings. The UPA Government should also explain whether its ministers can be involved in business dealings in the name of IPL. The Government should probe the source of certain funds flowing into the tournament and reconsider whether any tax exemptions or concessions are justified for this commercial enterprise," the statement said.
However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, said he will return, verify the matter and act accordingly on it.
"I have heard about these things. I don't have all the facts before me. When I go back, I will get all the facts and in the light of those, if any action is necessary, I think that would be the proper way to proceed. I can not go by hearsay or what appears on various columns of newspapers," said Singh.
The Tharoor vs Modi battle also had its repercussions in the minister's constituency in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala where an effigy of the IPL Chairman was burnt on Wednesday near the state secretariat.
Tharoor had issued an official statement on Tuesday to counter the allegations made by Modi over the ownership of the team.
While he admitted that Kochi stakeholder Sunanda Pushkar, the lady whom he is reportedly planning to marry, was his close friend, he said "various attempts were made by Modi and others to pressure the consortium members to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state".
Tharoor's key aide Jacob Joseph even called Modi a "convicted drug peddler".
Joseph made the allegation after Modi disclosed the names of the free equity holders in the little known Rendezvous Sports World.
Miffed by the disclosure, Rendezvous Sports World threatened to send a legal notice to Modi and accused the IPL Commissioner of breaking the confidentiality terms. The Kochi franchise has also complained to BCCI President Shashank Manohar about Modi's indiscretion.
Rendezvous Sports World won the auction for Kochi franchise after bidding nearly Rs 1,533 crore.
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