Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar are getting engaged

News of their relationship came in front of the world during the IPL scandal but then it turned to Lalit Modi.

Now, Shashi Tharoor is getting ready for her third marriage with Sunanda Pushkar. The engagement ceremony of the couple would take place at the luxurious Golden Palms Hotel & Spa located on the outskirts of Bangalore.

The hotel is owned by famous actor and filmmaker, Sanjay Khan. He and his wife invited Tharoor and Sunanda to the hotel. The couple spent some time in the hotel and loved the place.

The ceremony would take place on June 27, 2010. A reliable source said, “The engagement date is fixed. While some of the guests will be checking in early, considering it is the weekend, others are expected on the day of the do. However, the entire hotel has been blocked for Saturday and Sunday (June 26 and 27), for it is going to be a big affair. There will be no access into the hotel for any person who is not on the guest list. We are yet to receive the guest list and it will be handed over to us only by June 23 or 24.”

Tharoor and Pushkar are going to arrive at the city a day or two before the engagement.

Security measures have been tightened up at the Golden Palm Hotel. Many high profile people, including a dozen former cabinet colleagues, will attend the ceremony. Police said that they would keenly watch over the proceedings.

News reports said that the marriage might take place around Onam - the harvest festival of Kerala.

Tharoor is currently going through a divorce with his second wife, Christa Giles, a Canadian civil servant, who is working at the UN. Tharoor met Giles while he was working at the UN. His first wife, Tilottama Mukherji, is an academician based in Kolkata. Tharoor has twin sons from his first marriage- Ishaan and Kanishk. Both of them are well established writer and journalist.

Shashi Tharoor Resigns over IPL Kochi and Sunanda Pushkar Controversy?

Shashi Tharoor has indeed resigned and Indian Prime Minister has accepted his resignation. 
Today, the million dollar question in India was whether Shashi Tharoor would have to resign or not. I was checking all the news sources throughout the day and just right now, it is reported that Mr. Tharoor has gone to the home of Indian Prime Minister and resigned from his post as Minister of State for External Affairs. The opposition parties have been continuously demanding for his resignation.

He came to the home of Prime Minster with his personal car not with the government car. There is also some media speculation that the official announcement of his resignation may come tomrorw morning instead of tonight. I am giving you latest update in this entry and whenever any information comes, I will update the entry.

Earlier in the week, in an interview with NDTV, he categorically denied of any wrong doing and he also stated very clearly that he would not resign. He said that he did not take or get any money and he was completely innocent. However, the opposition parties started demanding his resignation. So, Congress Party core group leaders met today. So much happened today that it will take some time describe all of them. In brief, I am telling you some of the events that happened today regarding the Shashi Tharoor controversy:

1. Sunanda Pushkar announced through her lawyer that she would give up the 70-crore stake and she would not ask for any compensation.

2. This did not please the opposition parties and even a BJP leader said that this decision Sunanda was like an admission of the guilt and Shashi Tharoor must resign or be removed by the Prime Minister.

3. Mr. Tharoor met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

4. Congress President Sonia Gandhi also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss about the issue.

5. Congress Core group leaders assembled and met with Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

There is a rumor that while talking to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tharoor has offered to resign. There was also rumor earlier in the day that he had good meeting with the Prime Minister.

Shashi Tharoor vs Lalit Modi: Who will win?

Today, when I was browsing through some news Indian news channels, I could find that IPL matches have taken backstage and it is the conflict of Shashi Tharoor vs Lalit Modi that is now the main attraction for the media. It was a tough day for both of these two persons.

Shashi Tharoor found it almost impossible to tell his own side of the story in the Parliament. The opposition members made a lot of noise and he could hardly speak. So, he said his story outside of the parliament to the journalists. He basically said that he never did anything wrong in his career and even here in this IPL issue, he did nothing illegal. He just tried to promote his own state of Kerala and he is a Member of Parliament from there. As a MP, it is his duty to promote his own state and own people.

"My role in mentoring the Kerala consortium was throughout within the bounds of appropriate conduct of a member of Parliament. As a minister, I was in no position to influence the bid process, let alone its outcome."

Rendezvous has clarified that it issued ‘sweat equity’ to its associates in lieu of a salary, which is a common practice around the world for start-up ventures. The notion that somebody is some sort of ‘proxy’ for me is frankly insulting to me,” said Mr. Tharoor.

Lalit Modi also had a difficult day. Last night, Tax officials raided office of IPL and they talked to Lalit Modi for a long time. There has been no formal complaint or charge against either Modi or BCCI but things look some grim for IPL at the moment. Lalit Modi looked very tired and there is some doubt about his future as the head of IPL. There is every possibility that in the next few days, his power as IPL head will be curtailed.

NDTV reported:

He had spent hours, by his own admission, with income tax officials who wanted information about bids for the Indian Premier League franchises.  Still, Modi is nothing if not a fighter, and he used the media moment to say that pesky, persistent whisper notwithstanding, he's going nowhere. "I am still IPL commissioner," he said, underlining that he would "not be sidelined."

But his colleagues at the Board of Control for Cricket for India (BCCI), many of whom have been waiting to edge him out for years, say this could be the beginning of the end for Lalit Kumar Modi.  Even as the scheming begins, though, there is a note of wistfulness.  Modi's toughest opponents know this is a man with refined skills in not necessarily playing by the rules. And so far, that has served him well.

In the battle between Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi, Modi has one advantage. All the opposition parties are now demanding the resignation or sacking of Mr. Tharoor. On the other hand, some BCCI power heads like Sharad Pawar.

It is still not clear who would win in this conflict but it has already turned out to be a bitter conflict. Until now, Lalit Modi was like a King in Indian cricket. His authority has been perhaps challenged seriously for the first time.