NEW DELHI, APRIL 17: Extending his “sympathies” to debt-ridden Jet Airways, Vijay Mallya on Wednesday slammed the government of “discrimination” with private airlines.
In a series of tweets, Mallya said the collapse of Jet Airways and his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines was largely caused by the policies of the government. He also raised questions over the government’s decision to use 35,000 crores of public funds to bail out Air India.
“Even though Jet was a major competitor to Kingfisher at the time I feel sorry to see such a large private airline on the brink of failure when Government used 35K crores of public funds to bail out Air India. Just being a PSU is no excuse for discrimination,” Mallya tweeted.
In another tweet, the embattled fugitive liquor baron, who was famous for his lavish lifestyle, reiterated his offer to “pay 100 percent” back. Saying that he had invested a large sum in Kingfisher to make it India’s largest airline, Mallya admitted that it was made possible only after he got loans from private as well as public sector banks.
Expressing solidarity with Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, Mallya said that though Goyal was his competitor, the Jet Airways founder deserves credit for building an airline which made every Indian proud.
It may be recalled that earlier Mallya had claimed that the BJP-led government at the Centre was using the Kingfisher crisis to target the UPA government.
Mallya is presently on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017. The 63-year-old liquor baron is wanted in India on alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an estimated Rs 9,000 crores.
