Vijay Mallya resigns as RS member

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya resigned from the membership of the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The move comes a day before the Ethics Committee is to meet in order to put its stamp on his expulsion for defaulting on Rs 9,431-crore loan.

The two-time independent MP from Karnataka had time until Monday to submit his explanation to the Rajya Sabha Ethics Committee over the case but he chose to anticipate his expulsion, a foregone conclusion in the event of panel chairman Karan Singh and other members favouring his ouster.
Mallya’s term would otherwise have ended on June 30.

Gurdeep Singh Sappal, OSD to Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, confirmed Mallya’s resignation.

“Vijay Mallya says that allegations against him are baseless and false; Alleges that Finance Ministry has provided false information to Ethics Committee,” Sappal tweeted.

In his resignation letter, Mallya has claimed that the recent events suggest that he will not get a “fair trial or justice”. Mallya said he was cooperating with the investigating agencies and has been “unfairly dragged into the controversy”.

Referring to the Ethics Committee chairman’s letter, Mallya said he has replied to the letter, which said the panel was of the view that he should be expelled.

The 60-year-old businessman, whose passport was revoked by the government last month, said he did not want his “name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud”.