Mallya became the first person to be declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ under the Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Act, 2018 by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Mumbai. (File)Shortly after liquor baron Vijay Mallya was declared a fugitive economic offender by a Mumbai court on Saturday, BJP termed the moment as a “feather in the party’s cap” in its fight against corruption even as the Congress slammed the saffron party for going on a credit-claiming spree.
Speaking at a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the law was brought in by the NDA government to ensure that absconders — like Mallya — were brought to justice.
“Mallya grew under the patronage of the Congress government. Despite him being bankrupt, he was given loans and his loans were even restructured. He fled with Rs 9,000 crore of the country’s money. It is a feather in the cap for BJP’s fight against corruption,” PTI quoted Patra as saying.
Govent claiming credit for everything: Congress
Hitting back at the BJP, Congress said the government was claiming credit for everything. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said that going by the BJP’s “credit seeking” claims, India would be celebrating its fifth birthday on May 26, 2019.
“If BJP is taking credit for declaring Mallya a fugitive economic offender, then let them take credit as they are taking credit for everything from Mangalyaan, Chandrayan, Pokhran one to Pokhran 2 (nuclear tests)…we should be celebrating India’s 5th birthday on May 26, 2019. BJP feels that everything happened after its government came to power in 2014,” Khera said.
The Congress leader also recalled that Vijay Mallya met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and sought his permission before fleeing the country.
Mallya on Saturday became the first person to be declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ under the Fugitive Economic Offenders’ Act, 2018 by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Mumbai. The court will hear the arguments on the confiscation of Mallya’s properties on February 5.
Special judge MS Azmi declared Mallya an offender under Section 12 of the Act after hearing extensive arguments from the lawyer of Mallya and the ED counsel.
Under the provisions of the Act, a Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution. Once the person is declared a fugitive economic offender, the prosecuting agency has the powers to confiscate his properties.
