Fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya today released a two-year-old letter (scroll down to read) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said in a statement he was "making every effort" to settle his dues to banks but he had been made the "Poster Boy" of bank default and a lightning rod for public anger.
"I wrote letters to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on 15th April 2016 and am making these letters public to put things in the right perspective. No response was received from either of them," Mr Mallya said, justifying his first statement after a "long period of silence".
"I have been accused by politicians and the media alike of having stolen and run away with Rs 9,000 crores that was loaned to Kingfisher Airlines. Some of the lending Banks have also labelled me a wilful defaulter".
He said he was "tired of this relentless pursuit" by the government and its criminal agencies.
The liquor baron flew to the UK in 2016 and has been fighting against moves to extradite him to India to face trial.
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The 62-year-old is wanted in India for defaulting on loans worth crores and also in a money-laundering case. He left India just when a group of banks launched efforts to recover unpaid loans from him. Since then, he has been living in a mansion near London and has been spotted in many events. Last year, he was arrested in London on an extradition warrant.
"I respectfully say that I have made and continue to make every effort, in good faith to settle with the Public Sector Banks. If politically motivated extraneous factors interfere, there is nothing that I can do," he said.
According to him, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate were "determined" to frame criminal charges against him.
"The surprising fact is that the ED has objected in court to my Group's applications for sale of assets in order to allow me to repay creditors, including Public Sector banks," he said, commenting that it raised the "fundamental question of whether the Government wants me to repay the Public Sector Banks or not".
Read Vijay Mallya's letter to PM Narendra Modi:
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