In forced exile, no plans to return to India: Mallya : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

In forced exile, no plans to return to India: Mallya

LONDON: Embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya has said he is in a "forced exile" and has no plans to return to India where things are flying at him "fast and furious".

In forced exile, no plans to return to India: Mallya

Vijay Mallya. —Reuters/File



London, April 29

Embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya has said he is in a "forced exile" and has no plans to return to India where things are flying at him "fast and furious".

Mallya, whose passport was revoked this month, said he wants a "reasonable" settlement with creditor banks for his defunct airline, but they "are not getting any money" by taking his passport or arresting him.

"I definitely would like to return to India. Right now, things are flying at me fast and furious. My passport has been revoked. I don't know what the government is going to do next," he told the Financial Times.

Mallya, 60, said he remains an Indian patriot, who is "proud to fly the Indian flag", but as the outcry around him continues, he is more than happy to stay safe in the UK and has no plans to leave that country.

"It is important to understand the environment in India today. The electronic media is playing a huge role not just in moulding public opinion, but in inflaming the government to a very large extent," he said in what FT termed as a four-hour interview in Mayfair, Central London.

The Indian government yesterday wrote to Britain seeking deportation of the liquor baron against whom a non-bailable warrant has been issued in a money-laundering investigation.

Mallya, who flew first class from Delhi to London on March 2 as a group of state-owned banks knocked on the door of the Supreme Court to recover about Rs 9,000 crore owed by his collapsed Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, said he was "absolutely not guilty of any of these preposterous charges of diverting funds from Kingfisher, buying properties or stuff like that".

The government, he said, can appoint the world's best forensic auditor to audit the accounts of Kingfisher and audit how banks loans were utilised. "I am sure they are not going to find anything, because that's the truth."     

He said he has always maintained that "notwithstanding anything else", he was interested in settlement with Kingfisher bankers.

Asked who was behind his woes, he said, "I wish I knew."     

Pressed if the people after him were bureaucrats or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "All I can say is the manner in which my passport was first suspended and then revoked was done in an extraordinary haste."

"First, notice of suspension came on a public holiday last week... I replied. And my reply was not considered and the passport was revoked on Saturday," he said.  —PTI

Top News

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s death, seeks report in a month

Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari on Tuesday alleged that his brother...

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

‘Heart attack or poisoning’: The life and times of Mukhtar Ansari—crime and politics

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions...

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

CBI files chargesheet against 20 institutes, 105 individuals in Himachal Pradesh multi-crore scholarship scam

22 educational institutions were on CBI radar in the scholar...

Mahagathbandhan announces LS seat-sharing for Bihar; RJD to contest 26, Congress 9

Mahagathbandhan announces Lok Sabha seat-sharing for Bihar; RJD to contest 26, Congress 9

High-decibel contest seems on the cards in Hajipur, where RJ...


Cities

View All