The Member of Parliament Vijay Mallya on Friday said that he did not abscond from India and has full faith in the country’s judicial system. Vijay Mallya in a series of tweets said: “I am an international businessman. I travel to and from India frequently. I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder. Rubbish.” Mallya is in the middle of a controversy over Rs 9,000 crore owed to banks by the defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
Rubbishing the media reports that the United Breweries group chairman had fled from the country and was staying in London, Vijay Mallya said that he has full faith in Indian judicial system and and as a parliament member he “respects and will comply with the law of the land.”
The beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya also said that he does not want a trial by the media, adding: “Once a media witch hunt starts it escalates into a raging fire where truth and facts are burnt to ashes.”
“News reports that I must declare my assets. Does that mean the banks did not know my assets or look at my parliamentary disclosures?,” Vijay Mallya asked in a series of tweets.
The consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India had sought supreme court orders restraining Mallya from leaving the country, his arrest and impounding of his passport.
Earlier on Wednesday, the court was told that Mallya had already left India on March 2. This created an uproar in Parliament with both Congress members and the ruling party members blaming each other for lapses. Issuing notice, the Supreme Court gave Mallya two weeks to respond as it directed the next hearing of the matter on March 30.
Both Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and FM Arun Jaitley have spoken on the issue. (Read story: BJP calls Vijay Mallya Congress’ “sin”, hits out at Rahul Gandhi)