My remarks on Mallya taken out of context, clarifies Gadkari

| Dec 15, 2018, 02:33 IST
NEW DELHI: A day after he raised eyebrows with his observation that calling Vijay Mallya a "thief" for committing a "fraud" was unfair, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday claimed that his "statements have been taken out of context". He added the government's action against the fugitive businessman is right and justified, if the accused has done anything wrong.

"I had said if Vijay Mallya has done any wrong and a probe is underway on him, then the probe is right and suitable," the transport minister said. He added, "I had also said his (Mallya) account was a prime account for 40 years. It went for a toss on the 41st year. Ups and downs are bound to happen in business for different reasons; sometimes it's due to global economy, internal and external situations or business cycle. Both my statements have been taken out of context."


Gadkari also claimed that he was only trying to explain that booms and busts are part of business.


"My statement is about support during downturns to protect jobs. Fraud is completely unacceptable," he said.


While speaking at an event on Thursday, he had said, "Mallya paid his dues and interests regularly for 40 years. After that, he entered aviation and faced hurdles. Does that make him a thief? It's fine when a person pays his dues for 50 years ... he defaults once and instantly becomes a fraud? This mentality isn't right." The statement had stirred a controversy.


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