Tharoor skips book launch

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor stayed away from a book release function in the Capital,a day after the controversy over the Kochi IPL team broke out. But Tharoor sent a message,read out at the function,that said: Unfortunately,compelling and unforeseen circumstances made it impossible for me to attend the function.

Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese stepped in for Tharoor and released the book,Added Value: The Life Stories of Indian Business Leaders by Peter Church. Later,Varghese joked about being a stand-in for Tharoor,saying he didnt know why he was chosen to be a replacement. Its probably because I have nothing to do with the IPL. That might have helped, he said.

Added Value is a series of interviews with 30 Indian business leaders,including Captain Gopinath,Yusuf Hamied of Cipla and Uday Kotak. The author is chairman of AFG Venture Group,a corporate advisory firm with operations in Australia,South East Asia and India.