NEW DELHI: Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday made a sensational claim that absconding billionaire Vijay Mallya had been offered a unspecified deal before he fled the country which entailed his handing over IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (which he then owned) for a princely sum of Re 1.
Swamy, well known in political circles as a loose cannon, posted on his Twitter handle: “Our VHS highly placed sources in London tell me that Mallya was offered a bargain like the Spice Jet deal to hand over his IPL cricket club for ₹ 1. But who offered Mallya is not yet known. I am at it.”
Swamy’s tweet followed up on an earlier related tweet where he had posted: “We have now two undeniable facts on the Mallya escape issue: 1. Look Out Notice was diluted on Oct 24, 2015 from ‘Block’ to ‘Report’ departure enabling Mallya to depart with 54 checked luggage items. 2. Mallya told FM (Finance Minister Arun Jaitley) in Central Hall of Parliament that he was leaving for London.”
Swamy also claimed that all of this happened following instructions from the highest quarters. Speaking to news agency ANI, Swamy said: “Vijay Mallya could not have left the country if the lookout notice had not been watered down. Originally, the lookout notice for him was to stop him and hand him over to the police. The immigration authorities were directed to do that. But suddenly it was diluted to report Mallya’s departure.”
“This dilution must have been done at a very high level. It needs to be investigated. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) should personally look into the inquiry otherwise this will taint the reputation of the party,” he further told ANI.
Swamy’s comments only served to further fuel to the political firestorm that has been raging after Mallya, who left India in March 2016, on Wednesday claimed that he had met Jaitley before leaving for London. “I met the Finance Minister before I left,” Mallya claimed outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court where his extradition case is being heard. Mallya is wanted in India for allegedly defaulting on bank loans to the tune of Rs 90 billion.
Rebutting Mallya’s claims, Jaitley told ANI on Wednesday: “I have seen the statement of Vijay Mallya where he claims to have met me with an offer of settlement. Nothing could be further from truth. I never gave him (Mallya) an appointment, never at my office, never at my residence. Nor I was ever offered to meet him.”
