BJP: Gandhis proxy owners of Kingfisher
PARTY CLAIMS TO POSSESS 18 PAGES WORTH OF PROOF ABOUT THEIR LINKS WITH MALLYA
The political battle over fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya’s claim of meeting Union Minister Arun Jaitley raged yesterday with ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that Mallya’s now defunct Kingfisher Airlines was owned by Congress president Rahul Gandhi “by proxy”.
Yesterday, Gandhi said that Mallya and Jaitley were witnessed by Congress leader PL Punia having a discussion in Parliament just two days before the tycoon’s flight to the UK.
“Congress leader PL Punia witnessed Arun Jaitley’s meeting with Vijay Mallya. The Finance Minister has to explain to the country why he has colluded with a criminal and why was he having a meeting with a criminal, what was discussed? Mallya tells Jaitley that he was going to London and the Finance Minister does not even tell Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or police. Why not,” Gandhi asked.
Gandhi sought Jaitley’s resignation and a thorough probe into the matter.
Confirming witnessing the meeting between Jaitley and Mallya, Punia said, “I was in the central hall of Parliament House. I saw Jaitley and Mallya standing and talking in the corner. After 5-7 minutes, they sat on the bench and started talking. Mallya had come just to meet Jaitley. It is my challenge. You can look at CCTV footage and see if I am wrong. If I am wrong, I will resign.”
On Tuesday, Mallya had told media in London that he met Jaitley, who was the Finance Minister in 2016, before leaving India. “I left because I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the FM before I left, repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth. I also told the Minister that I was leaving for London,” Mallya said.
But Jaitley denied giving any appointment to Mallya before the tycoon left India.
BJP yesterday said Congress chief Gandhi owned Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines by proxy and there was “18 pages worth of evidence” about their links. “Papers show that Kingfisher Airlines was not owned by Mallya but by the Gandhi family. That Rahul and his mother Sonia Gandhi used to get free business upgrade in Kingfisher flights is something which is in public domain,” BJP spokesman Sambit Patra told media.