After maintaining silence for days on Twitter, Shashi Tharoor was back, only to thank his supporters for all the "kind words" at this "time of trial".
Forced to quit as minister of state for external affairs for his controversial role in the Indian Premier League Kochi franchise, Tharoor said "Thank you for all the kind words on www.SupportTharoor.org.
"Means a great deal that so many have reached out to me at this time of trial."
The tweet comes after his emotional statement in the Lok Sabha where he said "I have done nothing improper, unethical and much less illegal.... I have requested the Prime Minister to investigate throughly the charges against me."
This was his first comment on the social networking site in last five days. His last tweet was on April 16.
Tharoor had to resign after IPL commissioner Lalit Modi alleged that he had asked him not to reveal the names of Kochi franchise stakeholders, which included that of Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of the former minister.
Tharoor was accused by the opposition of misusing his official position to procure a sweat equity worth Rs 70 crore for Sunanda.
The charge was denied both by Tharoor and Sunanda. Later, she returned her share and quit the franchise.
The Congress Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram has nearly 7.5 lakh followers in his Twitter account.
Meanwhile, an online campaign to gather support for Tharoor has been launched. The site -- www.supporttharoor.org -- has received nearly 12,000 'pledges' of support.
