Indian minister vows cooperation into wife’s death
Print Edition
An Indian government minister promised to cooperate in a probe into the death of his wife days after she accused him of adultery in a case that has become a political embarrassment for the ruling Congress party in an election year.
Shashi Tharoor’s wife was found dead in a luxury hotel room in New Delhi after she went public on Twitter, saying a Pakistan-based journalist had been stalking her husband.
An autopsy revealed that Sunanda Pushkar’s death was “sudden and unnatural” and her body bore injury marks, although doctors said it didn’t mean those injuries had caused her death.
Tharoor, a high-flying former UN diplomat, called for a quick investigation into the death of his wife that he hoped would put an end to rumors about their personal lives.
“I have finally had a chance to catch up with media reports and am horrified to read the reckless speculation rampant there,” Tharoor, a junior human resource development minister, wrote in a letter to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
“I pledge my full and unstinting cooperation. Nothing short of truth will end the indignity to which my wife and I are being subjected.”
The scandal has erupted just as the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi is preparing to fight a tough election against a resurgent main opposition party as well as a new political group that promises clean and open politics.
Rivals have painted the Congress as a party of power and patronage, engulfed in corruption scandals and unable to hold its leaders to account for their actions.
Tharoor’s marital problems have been splashed across the front pages of newspapers and pored over by 24-hour television channels, prompting calls by the opposition for a fuller inquiry into the death of his wife.
Indian politicians have avoided attacking each other’s personal lives and sex scandals involving top leaders are rare.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
