It is understood that the Congress, whose spokesperson had said on Sep 18 that the party would take 'appropriate action' against him had been asked not to pursue that line following directions from the 'high command'. Apparently, the party spokespersons had spoken on the issue without proper authorisation, the sources said.

Some Congress leaders like Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi also demanded Tharoor's resignation for the remarks. However, Manmohan Singh sought to downplay Tharoor's remark at his Iftar party, saying it was just 'a joke'.

Sources also said much of the misunderstanding over his colloquial remark was because of the local language translation that made his impromptu remarks take on a completely different meaning that bordered on the offensive. Some of the reactions to them were, in fact, in reaction to the remarks that appeared in the Hindi, Tamil and the Malayalam media.

Sources in the know say all the three leaders are quite fond of Tharoor and it was Pranab Mukherjee who had suggested that Tharoor join politics in India after his UN secretary general bid didn't succeed, an idea that was supported by both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.