WEB DESK
Congress president Rahul Gandhi today demanded Finance Minister Arun Jaitely resignation over reports of fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya meeting with minister before he escaped from the country.
In a latest tweet Rahul said: “Given Vijay Mallya’s extremely serious allegations in London today, the PM should immediately order an independent probe into the matter. Arun Jaitley should step down as FInance Minister while this probe is underway.”
Given Vijay Mallya’s extremely serious allegations in London today, the PM should immediately order an independent probe into the matter. Arun Jaitley should step down as FInance Minister while this probe is underway.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 12, 2018
Fugitive Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya Wednesday claimed that he met the finance minister Arun Jaitely before leaving the country.
“I left because I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the finance minister before I left, repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth,” said Mallya, who arrived to appear before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in a case regarding his extradition to India to face trial on fraud and money laundering charges, in response to a query by journalist that was he “tipped off” to leave the country.
Jaitley, who was the finance minister in 2016 when Mallya left India, denied the liquor baron’s claim.
Mallya said the media should question the banks why they are not supporting him in his efforts to repay.
“I have said before that I am a political football. There is nothing that I can do about it. My conscience is clear and (I) put almost Rs 15,000 crore worth of assets on the table of the Karnataka High Court,” he said.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley has denied the claim made by India’s fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya as “factually false.”
Mallya on Wednesday claimed in London that he met the finance minister before leaving the country.
“Since 2014, I have never given him any appointment to meet me and the question of his having met me does not arise,” Jaitley said in a Facebook post. “The statement is factually false in as much as it does not reflect truth,” he asserted.
Jaitley said Mallya “misused” the privilege of being a Rajya Sabha MP to catch him in the corridors of Parliament on one occasion while he was walking out of the House to go to his room. He said Mallya, while walking alongside, “uttered a sentence that ‘I am making an offer of settlement’.”