Vijay Mallya says democratic right to vote in Karnataka but can’t travel to India

Vijay Mallya is wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore.

Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya , who had represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha, on Friday said it was his democratic right to vote in the state assembly polls, but lamented that he cannot travel to India, where he is wanted to face charges of fraud and money laundering.

Businessman Vijay Mallya arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court for his extradition case in London on January 11.(AP File Photo)

The 62-year-old former parliamentarian had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Upper House of Parliament between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008.

“It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka, but as you know I am here and cannot travel,” he told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate’s Court in connection with a hearing in his ongoing extradition trial, to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases.

He was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from the southern state on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before his the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016.

When asked about his opinion on the Karnataka polls, he said “I haven’t been following the politics so closely, so I have no opinion (on the polls).”

The elections for the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly is scheduled to be held across the state on May 12. The results will be out on May 15.