Earlier, Rahul demanded removal of the Finance Minister saying there was a "clear cut collusion" between a criminal and Jaitely.
The political slugfest over fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya's claims continued on Thursday. Congress president Rahul Gandhi jumped in to assert that he has evidence that union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had held a meeting with the disgraced businessman just before he flew out of the country to escape the noose of the law.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back saying that the Congress-led UPA government had violated norms since 2010 and bailed out Mallya's loss-making Kingfisher airlines. The party held three press conferences within hours to rubbish Gandhi's claims. Union minister Piyush Goyal accused the Congress of helping the airline get loans by bending rules and pressuring financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
"Every help was extended to Kingfisher by the UPA government to overcome debt," Goyal said, "Kingfisher was given loans many times during their regime."
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, in a separate press conference, read out from a bunch of papers, citing proof of links between the Congress and Mallya. He claimed that Gandhi took a loan of Rs 1 crore from the former King of Good Times.
"That he and his mother Sonia Gandhi used to get free upgrade to Business Class (in Kingfisher flights) is something which is in the public domain," Patra added. Another Union minister hinted that Mallya's statement has come after Gandhi's recent visit to England. "Did anyone notice that all these new allegations by Mallya are coming after Rahul Gandhi's visit to London? Is there a connection? You (media) should look into it," Prasad said.
Earlier, Rahul demanded removal of the Finance Minister saying there was a "clear cut collusion" between a criminal and Jaitely. He presented senior Congress leader PL Punia as witness to the meeting between Jaitely and Mallya in Parliament's Central Hall.
"Yesterday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that Vijay Mallya had informally approached him in Parliament," said Rahul. "He writes long blogs, but has never written about this. What he has said, however, is false and we have proof of that. Punia-ji here saw the meeting between them, which went on for 15-20 minutes."
Punia said the meeting took place on March 1, 2016, a day after the Budget was presented. "I was sitting at the Central Hall of Parliament House, and saw Jaitley-ji and Vijay Mallya talking in a corner, engrossed in intense discussion," he said. "Then, they sat on a bench in the Central Hall and continued. That's the only time that Mallya came to the Parliament in that session. On March 3, the news broke that he had left for London on March 2."
Punia demanded that footage of that day recorded by CCTV cameras placed in the Parliament be examined.
In retaliation, Goyal brought out a letter sent by the PMO to RBI on August 18, 2010 urging it to resolve issues with Kingfisher Airlines. "In October 2011, Mallya thanked Manmohan Singh and said he needed more help and RBI was forced to come to their aid again," the minister said.
During a hearing of his extradition case in London, Mallya — who is wanted on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs. 9,000 crore — said that he had met Jaitley before leaving India in 2016.
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