BJP claims credit for action against Mallya, Cong ridicules it
New Delhi, Jan 5: The BJP and the Congress were involved in a war of words after tainted businessman Vijay Mallya was declared a fugitive economic offender by a court on Saturday, with the ruling party attributing it to strict action by the Modi Government against loan defaulters who flee the country.
Claiming credit, the BJP said action against Mallya was taken under a law enacted by the Modi Government in August 2018, and termed it as "a feather in the cap" in its fight against corruption.
The Congress hit back saying that the BJP took credit for everything as if it all happened after 2014. It also raked up Mallya's statement made in September last year that he had met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving the country. Jaitley had rejected Mallya's claim as false, but the Congress has been raising it time and again to target the government.
A special court in Mumbai on Saturday declared the liquor baron a fugitive economic offender (FEO) on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate. Mallya has become the first businessman to be declared an FEO under the provisions of the new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act which came into existence in August last year.
"It is a feather in the cap for BJP's fight against corruption," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said at a press conference.
"Mallya grew under the patronage of the Congress government. Despite being bankrupt, he was given loans and his loans were even restructured. He fled with Rs 9,000 crore of the country's money," he alleged.
He claimed that Mallya was in touch with Congress leaders and read out from a purported letter the liquor baron wrote to the then prime minister Manmohan Singh in which "he thanks him for his help and also begged for aid in securing a loan".
He claimed that Singh directed his secretary to help Mallya, and on November 14, 2011, in a press conference, the former PM had said that ways needed to be found to help Kingfisher.
"This is the difference between the previous government and us that they gave him extraordinary help, but in our regime we declared him an offender and a fugitive.
"Various senior Congress leaders used to get favours from Mallya in return. Nabbing Mallya and winning the extradition was our strict action against such fugitive offenders who flee after taking huge amount of loan from India and then make a fool of our government and government agencies," he said.
Meanwhile the Congress, which held a press conference soon after the BJP, ridiculed the ruling party , saying that going by the the BJP's "credit seeking" claims, India would be "celebrating its fifth birthday on May 26, 2019".
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that Mallya had met Jaitley before fleeing the country.
"If the BJP is taking credit for declaring Mallya a FEO, then let them take credit as they are taking credit for everything from Mangalyaan, Chandrayan, Pokhran 1 to Pokhran 2 (nuclear tests)...we should be celebrating India's 5th birthday on May 26, 2019. The BJP feels that everything happened after its government came to power in 2014," he said.
Khera, however, said that "everyone knew" how Mallya fled to London.
"We all know...what happened and how it happened. In fact, a certain BJP minister recently even said that Mallya was not a fugitive and had not committed any fraud.
"When Mallya himself said that he left after meeting Arun Jaitley, sought his permission, so what else is there to say," said Khera.
Jaitley, who was finance minister in 2016 when Mallya left India, had said that he had not given Mallya an appointment to meet him since 2014. He had said that Mallya had "misused" the privilege of being a Rajya Sabha MP to catch him in corridors of Parliament on one occasion while he was walking out of the House to go to his room.
The Enforcement Directorate had requested the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai that Mallya, who is currently in the UK, be declared a fugitive and his properties be confiscated and brought under the control of the Union government.
Special judge M S Azmi declared Mallya an FEO under Section 12 of the Act after hearing extensive arguments from Mallya's lawyer and the ED counsel.
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Efforts on to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna back to India: Home Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said efforts are on to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexual abuse against women, back to India.
He also asserted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case was functioning efficiently.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.
The scandal has raised a political storm with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27 and is still at large.
He was BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls in the first phase on April 26.
"Procedures are on, until we secure him, bring him back here and take action in accordance with law, they will continue. We will neither slow it nor stop it," Parameshwara told reporters on questions about the Interpol's Blue Corner Notice that was issued against Prajwal.
On BJP alleging that the government was "responsible" for Prajwal's "escape" from the country, the Minister said, "They will say it, they have to say such things. They cannot say the government is doing a good job. But we have a responsibility as a government. Such incidents cannot be taken lightly. We will do our job."
Accusing the Congress government of trying to tarnish the reputation of Deve Gowda's family instead of ensuring justice to victims of alleged sex videos scandal case involving Prajwal, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had recently alleged that every bit of information on the investigation is being sent to a Congress MLA of Mandya district, but not the Home Minister.
Reacting to this, Parameshwara said: "Kumaraswamy is also well aware, several things we cannot bring to the public domain, because the investigation is on. Who will brief the Mandya MLA? Making such allegations is easy. We all have responsibility and we are functioning with responsibility, and we are not under any compulsions."
"I want to tell him (Kumaraswamy) that SIT is working efficiently, and whatever they have to brief me or the Chief Minister, they will brief. Let there be no doubts about it," he said.
