Indian minister Shashi Tharoor quits over cricket row

Mr Tharoor denies any wrongdoing
An Indian minister and ex-UN diplomat has resigned amid allegations of impropriety over his role with the winning bid of a cricket franchise.
Junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor was asked to quit by Prime Minister Manhohan Singh, press reports say.
It is alleged that a female friend of Mr Tharoor was granted a free stake in a new team from his home state, Kerala, for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mr Tharoor denies any wrongdoing but the scandal has sparked uproar.
Budget discussions were held up in parliament on Friday as opposition politicians demanded clarity on the controversy.
Cricket is almost a religion in India and its popularity with the masses means that politicians are keen to get involved with the sport, the BBC's Rahul Tandon in Calcutta says.
Resignation accepted
Mr Tharoor submitted his resignation to Mr Singh on Sunday night, Indian officials said.
"The prime minister has forwarded his resignation letter to the president with a recommendation that it be accepted," news agency Press Trust of India quoted a spokesman for the prime minister's office as saying.
President Pratibha Patil accepted the resignation late Sunday, reports said.
This has followed a week of drama involving a public spat between Lalit Modi, the chief of the IPL, and Mr Tharoor over ownership of the new cricket team for Kochi.
Mr Modi sent out a series of Twitter messages, "disclosing" the owners of the Kochi team and their shareholding stakes.
Mr Modi said they included Sunanda Pushkar, a Dubai-based businesswoman and a friend of Mr Tharoor.
Mr Tharoor and Ms Pushkar say the stake was awarded as "sweat equity" in return for marketing and professional services to the new franchise - but Ms Pushkar has now offered to surrender the stake.
Kochi was sold to Rendezvous Sports World Limited for $333m at auction. It is one of two new franchises which will join the IPL from 2011, taking the total number of teams to 10.
Mr Tharoor has said that Mr Modi tried to persuade the owners of Kochi to drop their bid in favour of another city.
Income tax officials have also launched an investigation into the IPL amidst allegations of corruption and nepotism involving Mr Modi.
The IPL has become a multi-billion dollar industry, which attracts some of India's wealthiest businessmen and women.