Tharoor should distance himself from his post: NCP

The NCP Wednesday said union minister Shashi Tharoor should "disassociate" himself from his post till the probe into the death of his wife, Sunanda Pushkar, was over.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which supports the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre, clarified it was not asking Tharoor to resign.

"The matter (Pushkar's death) is serious and investigations are on, and Tharoor has rightly pledged he will cooperate with the investigating agencies. We think Tharoor will himself disassociate from his ministerial responsibility till the investigation is over," party spokesperson D.P. Tripathi said.

Pushkar died of poisoning in a hotel room here Jan 17. Her autopsy found over a dozen injury marks on her body which were interpreted as "scuffle marks", sources said.

Her death followed days of quarrel with Tharoor and a spat on the social network with a Pakistani woman journalist, who Pushkar said was pursuing her husband.

According to police, investigations into the case are still on.

Meanwhile, the Congress has ruled out any possibility of Tharoor resigning from the government arguing there was no charge against him.