India’s Minister Tharoor raises a storm

Controversies always seem to follow Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor. The MoS who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, has once again landed himself in a mess and a target of the Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

His reported remarks of Saudi Arabia's potential as an “interlocutor in India's ties with Pakistan, “ raised a storm in New Delhi on Sunday.

The Congress and the BJP reacted promptly and made it clear that there was no scope for a third party in India-Pakistan relations. Commenting on Shashi Tharoor's remarks, Congress sources affirmed "India's position on ‘no’ to third party mediation in India-Pakistan issues is unchanged. There is no change in the Congress position."

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was quick to hit out at the MoS terming Tharoor's remarks "unusual" and reiterated India's known stand that no third party can intervene in issues between India and Pakistan.

Tharoor, who is with the Prime Minister in Riyadh, had said, "We feel Saudi Arabia has a long and close relationship with Pakistan and that makes Saudi Arabia a more valuable interlocutor to us." He was asked if India would seek Saudi support to influence Pakistan to address Indian concerns over terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory.

As a mini storm erupted over Tharoor's remarks, he clarified that India's desire to seek Riyadh's support on terrorism-related issues with Islamabad did not mean giving it the role of a mediator in India-Pakistan disputes. He said he had never used the word mediation or mediator while talking about a possible Saudi role. "No chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator... Never said that or anything like it," Tharoor said a couple of hours after the media highlighted his earlier remarks.

- Asian Tribune -