Restrain Minister

Shashi Tharoor, minister of state for External Affairs, is at the centre of yet another controversy for his remarks that Saudi Arabia could be a valuable interlocutor between India and Pakistan. The minister is in the habit of creating controversy one after another. It is surprising that how despite Ministate of state for External Affairs being himself an expert UN hand and on foreign affairs does not follow the ABC of Indian foreign . A few months back he had created controversy by saying that the Pt.Nehru's foreign policy is meaningless. But the minister should know first that it is India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had laid the foundation of Indian foreign policy after Independence, and that has more or less been followed by the successive governments of India. It is India’s stated policy since Pakistan came into existence by carving out from India that there is no question of any third party interference between the two neighbours. India rejects out of hand any third party mediation in talks with Pakistan. The issue between the two neighbours is bilateral and it can only be solved bilaterally. Tharoor must not lose sight of the fact that he is accountable to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Council of Ministers and thereby the people of India. He was with Prime Minister high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia. He must be serious with his business. He has said that Saudi Arabia could be a valuable interlocutor between Pakistan and India. When his point of view appeared in a section of Media, he promptly said that he did not mean the word mediation and it is media’s misinterpretation of his view. He considers the word interlocutor as different from the word mediation. It does mean that he only knows English language so he considers these two words as different. But he he must know that both the words interlocutor and mediation mean the same thing as going between the two. Media need not go to him to be taught English. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh also requires to rein in his junior minister so that he could not create embarrassment for the government as well as the Congress Party any more. Tharoor's boss Union External Affairs S M Krishna has already chided him over his controversial remarks that invited embarrassment for his ministry in the past. Tharoor appears to have become an embarrassment for the party also. Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi should also take Tharoor’s controversial remarks seriously and act against him to avoid any more embarrassment. Tweeting by minister is good but it must not become nuisance for the government .