Following Enforcement Directorate’s request to bring back Vijay Mallya, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has initiated the process to deport the businessman and lawmaker from the United Kingdom. Mallya’s diplomatic passport will be revoked soon and legal experts are being consulted for his early deportation.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said a request has been made to initiate steps for the deportation of Mallya to ensure his presence before the lawful authorities to proceed with investigation against him. “The Government is committed to bringing Vijay Mallya back to face justice,” he said.
“We are consulting legal experts,” Swarup said, while adding processes for revocation of Mallya’s passport and his deportation are underway.
The MEA had already suspended Mallya’s passport while giving him a show-cause notice as to why his travel document should not be revoked. Though Mallya has responded to the MEA notice through his lawyers, it seems the Government is in no mood to oblige the liquor baron, who is facing serious charges of money laundering and defaulting on bank loans. He is also facing probe in the Rs 900-crore IDBI alleged loan fraud case based on which the ED has sought a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him.
Once the deportation proceedings are initiated, the Government will seek assistance of the UK to interdict Mallya and fly him back to India on the grounds of NBW and suspension of his passport.
Meanwhile an IANS report said that Mallya did not hesitate to claim paltry amounts like Rs 20,000 as perks to which he was entitled as a Rajya Sabha member.
In response to a Right to Information query by a Bareilly-based activist Mohammad Khalid Jeelani, the Rajya Sabha secretariat disclosed that the liquor baron convicted in a dud cheque case and facing a non-bailable warrant for defaulting on bank loans of around Rs 9,000 crore regularly pocketed Rs 50,000 per month as a parliamentarian’s salary as well as other perks like constituency allowance and telephone reimbursements.
Jeelani told IANS that he was “shocked by the findings as Mallya was known for his flamboyant lifestyle- ‘living life kingsize’”.
The reply also revealed that while Mallya had not availed of any airfare reimbursements, he availed of all other perks and emoluments as member of the Upper House of Parliament.