Tharoor in controversy over "interlocutor" remark in Saudi Arabia

File photo of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his visit to Saudi Arabia, today found himself in the middle of a controversy, clearly caused by a misunderstanding of the word "interlocutor" that he used during a conversation with journalists.

"We feel that Saudi Arabia, of course, has a long and close relationship with Pakistan but that makes Saudi Arabia an even more valuable interlocutor for us," Dr Tharoor was quoted as saying.

"When we tell them about our experience, Saudi Arabia listens as somebody who is not in anyway an enemy of Pakistan but rather is a friend of Pakistan and therefore I am sure will listen with sympathy and concern to a matter of this nature," he said.

He was answering a question on the kind of cooperation that India could expect from Riyadh given its close relationship with Islamabad.

The problems for the Minister began when some media reports used Dr Tharoor's remark that "that makes Saudi Arabia an even more valuable interlocutor for us" was taken to mean that he said that the kingdom could be a "valuable interlocutor between India and Pakistan".

What Dr Tharoor had said was that Saudi Arabia was a valuable interlocutor for India, which was misinterpreted. From then onwards, it was just one short step before it was made out in some media reports that he had suggested that Saudi Arabia could be a mediator between India and Pakistan.

That was enough to stir up a political hornets' nest, given the fact that India has always opposed any suggestion about a role for a mediator to help sort out the differences between India and Pakistan.

For the record, the dictionary says "interlocutor" means a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue. A "mediator" is a person who mediates, especially between parties at variance, one who reconciles differences between disputants.

"No chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator. Never said that or anything like it," Dr Tharoor told a television channel.

And in one of his tweets on micro-blogging site Twitter, the Minister said, "Good day of mtgs, marred in someIndian media by misunderstanding of word 'interlocutor'. An interlocutor is someone u spk to, nothing more.

"If I speak to u, u are my interlocutor! I mentioned the Saudis as OUR interlocutors, ie the people we are here to speak to. Some misinterpretn," he added in another tweet.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, condemned Dr Tharoor's reported remarks, describing them as "utterly irresponsible"/

BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said Dr Tharoor appeared to have floated a trial balloon. He said the remarks were an attempt to "internationalise" the issue.

Mr Prasad said the BJP would seek a clarification on the issue from the Prime Minister in Parliament.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) also described Dr Tharoor's remarks as "irresponsible" and a deviation from India's stated position. The party, too, felt the Prime Minister owed an explanation to Parliament in this regard.

Late in the evening, Dr Tharoor issued a statement in Riyadh: "A section of the media has misread the remarks made by me in Riyadh last evening. What I basically said was that Saudi Arabia is a valuable interlocutor for India. Any other interpretation was neither meant nor warranted," he said.

NNN