Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya resigned from the Rajya Sabha on Monday, a day before the House Ethics Committee was set to recommend his expulsion.
In two separate letters to ethics panel chairman Karan Singh and Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, Mallya claimed he was not given “a fair trial”. The two-term member of parliament (MP) also alleged that the finance ministry had furnished false information about him to the ethics panel.
“I don’t want my name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud. I am hereby resigning as a member of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect,” the flamboyant MP, known for his lavish lifestyle, wrote.
Sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat told HT that his resignation was not accepted immediately and that the veracity of the letter, sent via fax, would be first checked.
An independent MP from Karnataka, Mallya’s term was to end on June 30.
Mallya’s letters again indicated that the businessman, who left for London on March 2, is in no mood to return to India. He stated, “Recent events suggest that I will not get a fair trial or justice.”
He also pointed out that the Ethics Committee is already of the view that he should be expelled from the House.
Amid a nationwide uproar over Mallya’s alleged fleeing to the UK when the banks upped the ante over unpaid loan of `9,400 crore, the Ethics Committee last month started deliberating his case. In the last meeting of the panel, all seven members wanted him to be expelled but a last chance was given to Mallya to explain his position.
{{/usCountry}}Amid a nationwide uproar over Mallya’s alleged fleeing to the UK when the banks upped the ante over unpaid loan of `9,400 crore, the Ethics Committee last month started deliberating his case. In the last meeting of the panel, all seven members wanted him to be expelled but a last chance was given to Mallya to explain his position.
{{/usCountry}}“It has to be seen if the resignation letter is in order. Till now, it is only hearsay,” said CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said. Sources also pointed out that if Mallya’s resignation is accepted, the Ethics panel will not proceed further as it only deals with members of the House.