Mallya: I’m like a football being kicked around by two teams

With the Indian government planning to frame a law to prevent loan defaulters from fleeing the country, beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya has likened himself to a “football” being kicked around by “two fiercely competitive teams” NDA and UPA.

Hitting out at the ongoing investigations by CBI and efforts to extradite him from the UK, Mallya also alleged that media has been used against him.

“Media happily being used as the pitch. I am the football. Two fiercely competitive teams NDA versus UPA playing. Unfortunately, no referees,” Mallya said in a tweet.

In the Budget 2017-18, India finance minister Arun Jaitley had stated that the government plans to bring in a law to confiscate the assets of such persons till they submit to the judiciary.

In the recent past, there have been instances of “big-time offenders, including economic offenders” fleeing the country to escape the reach of law, Jaitley had said while presenting the Budget.

“We have to ensure that the law is allowed to take its own course,” the finance minister had said.

Jaitley said legislative changes or even a new law would be brought to deal with such absconders.

With CBI hot on his trail for extradition, Mallya also hit out at the investigating agency for making “false and misconceived” allegations.

“Am shocked at CBI allegations. All false and misconceived, to say the least. What do a bunch of elite Police know about business and economics?” Mallya asked.

Last week, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the 720-crore rupees (£720 million) IDBI Bank loan default case as the agency sought his extradition from the UK.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than 9,000 crore rupees (£1,071 billion) to various banks, had left India on March 2.

The agency had registered a money laundering case against him and others based on an FIR registered last year by CBI.