The decision to sack Shashi Tharoor has little to do with morality, and is entirely linked to damage control — if Parliament was not in session, and the government wasn’t at the mercy of the Opposition for getting its Bills passed, Tharoor would not have been asked to step down. What is funny about the entire drama, of course, is the amounts of money involved. Based on newspaper reports, and these are generally exaggerated, Sunanda Pushkar’s sweat equity was worth Rs 70 crore. What is Rs 70 crore in a nation where even clerks in municipal corporations seem to be worth more? Indeed, ministers in the government have presided over deals worth many multiples of this, but nothing has happened to them. One reason is that Tharoor is a lightweight while they have the backing of several MPs, always critical when the government is in a minority.
What is amazing is that the entire media fell for this and pilloried Tharoor and Pushkar. Of course, they were wrong in what they did, but let’s get some perspective on the amounts involved. The furore was not commensurate with the crime.
Shatrujit Sinha, Gurgaon
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