Parliament ethics committee to take up Vijay Mallya issue

The ethics committee of Parliament on Friday will take up the issue of liquor baron Vijay Mallya owing Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of banks led by the SBI.

Mallya, who is currently a member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Standing Committee on Commerce, made it to the House a second time as an "independent" candidate from Karnataka.

Meanwhile, rubbishing claims that he had absconded from the country, liquor baron Mallya asserted that he is an international businessman, who travels from India frequently, and said that he is not an absconder.

"I am an international businessman. I travel to and from India frequently. I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder. Rubbish. As an Indian MP I fully respect and will comply with the law of the land. Our judicial system is sound and respected. But no trial by media,? Mallya said on Twitter.

The liquor baron has been declared a wilful defaulter and has a huge debt of Rs 9,091 crore to the banks.

A consortium of lenders, led by State Bank of India, had moved the apex court to prevent him from leaving the country and impounding his passport even as the loan recovery procedure for Kingfisher Airlines is still on.

The apex court has asked the United Breweries group chairman to be present before it on March 30 along with his passport, after learning that he had left the country on March 2.