Tharoor called meeting of Christian pastors at home: LDF

The LDF has accused Union Minister and Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor of attempting to garner votes by calling a meeting of pastors of a particular Christian denomination at his apartment here.

LDF leaders M Vijayakumar and Ramachandran Nair told a press meet here today that they had lodged a complaint with Election Commission seeking action against Tharoor.

A pro-Left television channel also aired an audio tape in which Tharoor purportedly urged the pastors to not only to pray for him but also persuade their followers to vote for him in some segments in the constituency where their adherents have strength.

They alleged that Tharoor also wanted the pastors to tell their followers that charges levelled against him by opponents in connection with his wife Sunanda Pushakar's death were baseless and he was totally innocent.

Tharoor was not immediately available for his reaction to the allegation.

The LDF leaders said this was a serious violation of election rules and they expected the Election Commission would inquire into it and take suitable action.

This also exposed that Tharoor was facing defeat and he was desperately trying to reverse the trend by making communal appeal, the LDF leaders said.

Tharoor is making his second consecutive bid to the Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, where his principal opponents are CPI's Bennet Abraham and O Rajagopal of the BJP.