Liquor baron Vijay Mallya sent a resignation letter to the Rajya Sabha yesterday
Highlights
- Vijay Mallya owes over Rs. 9,000 crore in unpaid loans to his airlines
- Last week, he described his status as 'forced exile' in an interview
- India has asked UK to deport Mr Mallya; arrest warrant also issued
Hours after sending in his resignation from the Rajya Sabha, tycoon Vijay Mallya, who is wanted by banks in India for billions in unpaid loans, tweeted that he was not a defaulter.
"Agree Kingfisher Air owes money to Banks. I am neither a borrower or a judgement debtor. Why am I a defaulter inspite of a settlement offer?" Mr Mallya tweeted.
The liquor baron's resignation letter on Monday came just as the Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha was preparing to expel him from Parliament.
In a letter sent from London, Mr Mallya said: "I don't want my name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud and since recent events suggest that I will not get a fair trial or justice, I am hereby resigning as a member of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect."
The businessman, who owes over 9,000 crores in unpaid loans to his collapsed Kingfisher Airlines, has made it clear that he has no plans to return home from the UK to face creditor banks.
Last week, the 60-year-old businessman described his status as "forced exile" in an interview to a newspaper.
"We have always been in dialogue with banks saying: 'We wish to settle'. But we wish to settle at a reasonable number that we can afford and banks can justify on the basis of settlements done before," Mr Mallya said.
India has asked Britain to deport Mr Mallya and an arrest warrant has been issued by a Mumbai court for money-laundering charges.
In March, the entrepreneur known for his flamboyant lifestyle flew first class from Delhi to London at a time when state-controlled banks stepped up efforts to recover unpaid loans.