Arun Jaitley retorted the Congress, which was in power for 10 years till 2014, never took any steps to recover the loans
Highlights
- Opposition attacks government in house over Vijay Mallya leaving India
- Ghulam Nabi: This govt is part of the conspiracy in Mallya fleeing India
- Union Minister Rajiv Rudy hit back saying 'Mallya not a saint for us'
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's departure, possibly to the UK, in the middle of attempts to recover hundreds of crores in unpaid debts to banks, became a new point of conflict in Parliament today.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of allowing Vijay Mallya, "who stole 9,000 crores, to run away from India." Speaking outside Parliament, he repeated his "Fair and Lovely" jibe at the government's amnesty scheme for tax defaulters.
His party aggressively targeted the government in both houses of Parliament.
"This government is part and party in the criminal conspiracy in him fleeing the country," charged Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha.
The government yesterday told the Supreme Court that Vijay Mallya went abroad on March 2. The court was hearing the petition of 17 banks which had said that Mr Mallya should be stopped from leaving India because of the enormous debts that his grounded Kingfisher airlines owes.
Mr Azad said: "When so many agencies were interrogating him, why wasn't he arrested, why wasn't his passport taken away? He is a tall and well-endowed man and travels with a whole cavalcade. How can he disappear?"
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley retorted that the Congress, which was in power for 10 years till 2014, never took any steps to recover the loans.
"The banks are taking all steps to recover every paisa taken from them," Mr Jaitley said. He questioned how cricket tycoon Lalit Modi left India despite being wanted in corruption cases.
"You could not stop him or arrest him. I can share the details. This will require a lot of introspection on your end," said Mr Jaitley.
In the Lok Sabha, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy shot back: "Vijay Mallya is not a saint for us. There are huge debts and money he has to pay back. Has a single penny been given by NDA government? All which has gone was given by UPA government."
As the Ishrat Jehan case was raised by the ruling BJP, Congress members led by Sonia Gandhi walked out of the Lok Sabha.