'Suits BJP to say I ran away': Vijay Mallya cites Narendra Modi's remark to affirm recovery of bank dues

New Delhi: Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Sunday quoted an interview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assert that the government has already recovered more than what he allegedly owed to banks. Mallya, who is currently facing trial in a UK Court, took to micro-blogging Twitter and wrote: “I humbly submit that my assertion that I am a poster boy is fully vindicated by the PM’s own statement about me (by name)that his Govt has recovered more than what I allegedly owe the Banks. Fact that I have been a UK resident since 1992 ignored. Suits the BJP to say I ran away.” [caption id=“attachment_6028671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Vijay Mallya. PTI[/caption] In an interview to Republic Bharat news channel on 29 March, Prime Minister Modi had expressed satisfaction over the fact that Mallya’s extradition process was in the last stage and the government has recovered money from him. “We brought in a law that enabled the Indian government to confiscate the property of fugitives in any part of the world. You must’ve seen in the case of Vijay Mallya. He owed banks Rs 9,000 crore but the government has confiscated his properties worth Rs 14,000 crore from across the world. Now, he is in trouble because we are taking double the amount,” said the prime minister in an exclusive interview to Republic Bharat news channel’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. Reacting further on Modi’s statement, Mallya also took a dig at BJP spokespersons for speaking against him despite the government’s confirmation of full recovery. “Saw PM Modi’s interview in which he takes my name and says that even though I owe Rs 9000 crores to Banks, his Govt has attached my assets worth Rs 14,000 crores. So the highest authority has confirmed full recovery. Why do BJP spokesmen continue their rhetoric,” he tweeted. Patiala House Court on 19 March ordered attachment of Mallya’s properties in Bengaluru under section 83 in The Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with a FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act) violation case. The same court had already declared Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in January 2018. The court had also issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against him for evading summons and law of the land in 2017. As per the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate, Mallya had allegedly paid $200,000 to a British firm and some European countries for displaying the logo of his now defunct  Kingfisher airline in Formula One World Championships in London in 1996, 1997, and 1998. The investigating agency also claimed that the money was paid without prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in violation of the FERA norms.