(Image source from: Hindustan Times)
Fleeting Indian businessman Vijay Mallya on Tuesday release a two-year-old missive to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi stating that he was "making every effort" to settle his owed to banks but he had been made the "poster boy" of bank default and a lightning rod for public ire.
"I wrote letters to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on 15th April 2016 and am making these letters public to put things in the right perspective. No response was received from either of them," Mallya said, justifying his first statement, breaking long period of silence.
He further add "I have been accused by politicians and the media alike of having stolen and run away with Rs. 9,000 crores that were loaned to Kingfisher Airlines. Some of the lending Banks have also labeled me a wilful defaulter".
He said he was tired of the grim chase by the regime and its criminal agencies.
The liquor big businessman flew to the United Kingdom in 2016 and has been fighting against decisions to expel him to India to face legal proceeding.
The 62-year-old is sought in India for defaulting crore worth loans and likewise in a money-laundering suit. He left India just when a group of banks launched endeavors to retrieve outstanding loans from him. Since then, he has been living in a mansion house near London and has been spotted in many events. Earlier this year, he was arrested in London on an extradition warrant.
"I respectfully say that I have made and continue to make every effort, in good faith to settle with the Public Sector Banks. If politically motivated extraneous factors interfere, there is nothing that I can do," he said.
According to Mallya, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate were "determined" to frame criminal charges against him.
"The surprising fact is that the ED has objected in court to my Group's applications for sale of assets in order to allow me to repay creditors, including Public Sector banks," he said, commenting that it raised the "fundamental question of whether the Government wants me to repay the Public Sector Banks or not".
Read Vijay Mallya's letter to PM Narendra Modi
By Sowmya Sangam
