Met Arun Jaitley before leaving India: Vijay Mallya
New Delhi, Sept 12 (IBNS): Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who owes Rs. 9,000 crore to banks and faces trial on different counts ranging from defaulting of loans to money siphoning, on Wednesday claimed that he met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving India.
He also claimed to have made "repeated offers" to Jaitley to "settle issues."
Mallya made this statement to reporters outside London's Westminster Magistrates' Court, where his extradition case is being heard.
Reacting to the charges, Jaitley in a Facebook post stated that the claim of Mallya is "factually false " and "it does not reflect truth."
"Since 2014, I have never given him any appointment to meet me and the question of his having met me does not arise. However, since he was a Member of Rajya Sabha and he occasionally attended the House, he misused that privilege on one occasion while I was walking out of the House to go to my room," said he.
Jaitley said Mallya paced up to catch up with him and while walking uttered a sentence that ”I am making an offer of settlement”.
"Having been fully briefed about his earlier 'bluff offers', without allowing him to proceed with the conversation, I curtly told him 'there was no point talking to me and he must make offers to his bankers.' I did not even receive the papers that he was holding in his hand," said the Union Minister.
"Besides this one sentence exchange where he misused his privilege as a Rajya Sabha Member, in order to further his commercial interest as a bank debtor, there is no question of my having ever given him an appointment to meet me," said Jaitley.
However, the Congress party did not miss the chance to attack the Union Finance Minister over this and said the Cente is running a travel agency which provided free passage to Mallya to loot in India and settle abroad.
"After Mallya reveals his ‘consultation meetings’ before his smooth escape, with Fiscal Mismanagement Blog Minister Sh Jaitley - one thing is clear - BJP is running 'tour travels & immigration' agency for “loot scoot & settle abroad” brigade," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.
After Mallya reveals his ‘consultation meetings’ before his smooth escape, with Fiscal Mismanagement Blog Minister Sh Jaitley - one thing is clear - BJP is running “tour travels & immigration” agency for “loot scoot & settle abroad” brigade. https://t.co/n39NfDw0rS
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 12, 2018
Congress President Rahul Gandhi called for an indeendednt probe into the allegations by Mallya.
Given Vijay Mallya’s extremely serious allegations in London today, the PM should immediately order an independent probe into the matter. Arun Jaitley should step down as FInance Minister while this probe is underway.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 12, 2018
Mallya fled India in March 2016.
The liquor baron is currently on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year.
Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard over a fraud case but was later granted bail by fulfilling a 650,000-pound bail bond.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
