Tweets land Tharoor in trouble again

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Monday ticked off his junior minister Shashi Tharoor for publicly questioning new visa guidelines, saying if he had any "perceptions", those should be discussed within the "four walls" of the government.

"These (issues) are not to be discussed in public. If there are any perceptions, then I think it should be sorted out within the four walls of the ministry," Krishna told reporters when asked to react to Tharoor's comments on social networking site twitter regarding tightening of visa regime.

Krishna underlined that "the business of government is far too serious" and "has to be conduced in a manner in which we decide."

While tweeting, Tharoor had wondered whether tightening of the visa norms for foreign nationals made any sense at all and if it would actually "protect" security.

Contending that "26/11 killers had no visas", the Minister of State for External Affairs had asked whether India would allow terrorists to make it a "less welcoming" destination.

Under the new rules which came after the David Headley case, any foreign national holding long-term multiple entry visas will have to take a two-month break before re-entering India. However, this was amended later, with government saying exception would be made for bona fide travellers if they submit itinerary details.

Krishna emphasised that there was no ambiguity on the visa issue and the External Affairs Ministry and Home Ministry were on the same page on this.