In this bitter battle between Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi, it is easy to take sides. It would have to be that of the former diplomat, author and intellectual, and now a union minister. To level charges of corruption against him is absurd, and as yet without any basis, even if he has been linked to a consortium that bought an IPL franchise in Kochi.

On the other hand, let’s look at Lalit Modi. He is a great business mind who has created one of the world’s biggest and richest sports franchises. His Indian Premier League is a case study at several business schools and his business acumen is laudable. But, and there is a but, his personal propriety can easily be questioned. Modi was convicted on drug-related charges in the US when a student. Reports allege he is a benami co-owner of at least one IPL franchise. He has no standing in the sport in his home state and was suitably drubbed in a recent election to the Rajasthan Cricket Association.

Having said that, Tharoor’s position is an unfortunate one. He could have easily avoided it, if only he had exercised better discretion. Obviously, this storm seems far worse than others he has ridden, mostly caused by his tweets. Even though he has many admirers, including yours truly, for his intellect and integrity, Tharoor needs, as a politician, to make the additional effort to be seen as clean. He can’t just expect people to not point fingers. That is not how politics works. He surely knows that.

Most fair-minded guys wouldn’t grudge Tharoor for refusing to disclose or discuss his personal life and his reported relationship with Sunanda Pushkar, a Dubai businesswoman. But he could have, in the interests of transparency and for his own good, come clean on many other issues related to the IPL Kochi franchise. This would have negated the ‘dirt’ Lalit Modi and his team keep throwing at him. For example, why should Tharoor have bothered to call Modi on pushing files related to the IPL Kochi franchise if he acted only as a mentor? He must surely realize that he needlessly opens himself up to even greater scrutiny.

I am not going to go into the apparently murky ties between stake holders of the IPL Kochi franchise, something Modi seems to be particularly well. Or the counter allegations from holders of the franchise that Modi, backed by Gujarat’s other Modi, has tried all the time to snatch it away for Ahmedabad on behalf of a large business house. But nothing points to Tharoor having a finger in the pie.

The political parties, by calling for Tharoor’s resignation, may have actually saved his job because Congress now cannot act against him without prima facie evidence of any clear wrongdoing on his part. Congress may have, on its own, dumped Tharoor in the event its leaders are tired of his unending controversies. But now, any such act would be seen as buckling down to opposition pressure and consequently, unlikely to happen.

Tharoor may, after all, have to thank the opposition for riding the latest crisis! One only hopes he will take extra care in avoiding the next which, by the way, could be just 140 characters, or one tweet, away.