'Mallya has enough assets to sell for repaying loans'
Bengaluru, June 26: Fugitive Vijay Mallya has enough assets to sell and replay loans he raised from banks to fund his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, an official said on Tuesday.
"The value of Mallya's assets seized by the authorities concerned is estimated to be nearly Rs 13,960 crore, while he owes about Rs 9,500 crore to a consortium of banks," a law enforcing agency official told IANS here.
On a petition in February 2016 by the consortium of 17 banks for recovery of their dues from the airline, the Debt Recovery Tribunal recovered and transferred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) assets valued at Rs 7,529 crore.
In a petition to the Karnataka High Court on June 22, Mallya offered to sell under judicial supervision his fixed assets and shares valued at Rs 8,423 crore to repay the outstanding dues to creditors, including banks.
"As most of fixed assets valued at Rs 1,700 crore and shares (pledged/unpledged) worth Rs 4,978 crore, totalling Rs 6,678 crore) have been seized and attached, the ED has to release them for sale," said the official, preferring anonymity.
The Tribunal has so far recovered Rs 198 crore in fixed deposits and balance amount in the bank accounts of the defaulters (Mallya and United Breweries Holdings Ltd) and Rs 73 crore from the sale of the sprawling Kingfisher Villa at Candolim in Goa in April 2017.
As stated by Mallya in a statement to the media earlier, he had deposited Rs 1,280 crore with the high court on its direction in 2013.
In addition, Mallya is ready to sell other assets worth Rs 2,650 crore.
Mallya's six other entities are also willing to sell shares worth Rs 2,888 crore, held in the group companies such as United Spirits Ltd, United Breweries Ltd and McDowell Holdings Limited.
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Lok Sabha extends tenure of parliamentary panel on Waqf bill
New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the tenure of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill till the last day of the Budget session of Parliament next year.
Committee Chairman and BJP leader Jagdambika Pal moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha, which approved it with a voice vote.
The parliamentary panel’s meetings have become a virtual battleground between the opposition and the ruling party members, who have been vociferously debating the changes to the Waqf Bill proposed by the government.
On Wednesday, the opposition members of the committee staged a walkout and slammed Pal for asserting that the panel's draft report was ready.
Pal and the BJP members of the committee then reached out to opposition members and indicated their willingness to press for an extension of the committee's deadline of November 29 to submit its report to the Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha had constituted the committee on August 8 and asked to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the Winter session, which is on Friday.
Following the last meeting of the committee on November 21, Pal had said its draft report is ready. He indicated that the committee's consultation with stakeholders is over and its members will now discuss the report and suggest changes, if any, before it is adopted.
The opposition members took strong exception to this stand in Wednesday's meeting and soon stormed out. They claimed that Birla had assured them that its tenure would be extended.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the waqf boards and make them accountable.
