In signals that the party was not happy with Shashi Tharoor, Congress today indicated that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take a "considered view" on his fate after his arrival from abroad.
You are being premature and hurried. Why can't you wait for the PM to take a considered view in the matter," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said.
He sidestepped questions whether the party was satisfied with the personal explanation of Tharoor who had dismissed allegations against him on the IPL issue as "baseless, ill-founded and ill-motivated".
The AICC's comment is significant as the patience of the leadership appears to be being strained by the controversy in the midst of a Parliament session.
A senior minister who did not want to be quoted said Tharoor was a "live bomb" for the party, hinting at the predicament in which it finds itself.
Party sources have 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.