A top secret Intelligence Bureau report on the Shashi Tharoor controversy has advised the Centre to arrive at a political decision, pressing the Minister of State for External Affairs to resign, sources have said.
A consolidated six-page report of the revenue authorities and intelligence agencies submitted by the IB to Pranab Mukherjee at 8 pm on Friday changed the scenario.
The Congress waited for Tharoor to make a suo motu statement -- drafted by Tharoor himself-- in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Once that was was placed, a senior-most IB official met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and briefed him and later Defence Minister A K Antony. IB director Rajiv Mathur oversaw the investigations.
IB, it is learnt, is also, tracking flow of funds from Dubai. For three days since the controversy broke out, security agencies were put on alert along with the income tax department.
Party sources even claim Mukherjee and Antony had asked a senior Kerala Congress leader to communicate to Tharoor to quit on Saturday evening.
There are many reasons cited for the Congress to turn its back on Tharoor.
Tharoor's statement in the LS has not helped cool the temper. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is making this a major issue in Kerala, where the local body elections are due.
Also, at the national level, the Opposition unity against Tharoor is getting further cemented.
Also, in the murky politics inside the IPL management, the Congress thinks that Sharad Pawar and Lalit Modi have got united to hit Tharoor.
Congress sources say Dubai-based Sunanda Pushkar's repeated exposure in media is an embarrassment to the party. Also, Tharoor's boss in the ministry S M Krishna has been opposed to Tharoor on various issues.
