No end to deadlock over delegation row, Tharoor and Cong mull options

Party may decide to withdraw the MP as chair of standing committee on external affairs

- K S SREEJITH @T'Puram

THERE SEEMS to be no end to the stalemate between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor over the naming of the Thiruvananthapuram MP as one of the heads of delegations that will visit other countries to garner support for India's policy to counter Pakistan's cross-border terrorism.

Though the high command has yielded to BJP government pressure and Tharoor's stern position, according to sources in the Congress, the party is seeking several options.

The Centre's move to exclude three of the four nominees submitted by the Congress also came as a major setback for Rahul Gandhi. There are indications that the party may decide to withdraw Tharoor as chairman of the standing committee on external affairs.

The high command also reportedly conveyed the message that the party will not make any concessions to Tharoor.