Nehru and Gandhi spent time in Indian jails: Sushma Swaraj on Vijay Mallya's complaint to UK court on poor prisons

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday responding to a query on the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who has fled to London after a fraud and money laundering case in India, said that PM Narendra Modi had spoken to his UK counterpart regarding the same.

Reports have said that Theresa May, citing a UK court, told PM Modi questioned the condition of Indian jails. “PM Modi told British PM Theresa May that UK courts asking about the condition of Indian jails is not right, as these are the same prisons where they had jailed our leaders like Gandhi and Nehru,” she told the media during the fourth annual press briefing on the achievements of the External Affairs Ministry.

Earlier, Mallya, undergoing an extradition trial in a UK court over fraud and money laundering charges by Indian authorities, today lost a lawsuit filed by 13 Indian banks in the UK High Court seeking to collect from him more than USD 1.55 billion.

Judge Andrew Henshaw refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing Mallya's assets and upheld an Indian court's ruling that a consortium of 13 Indian banks were entitled to recover funds amounting to nearly USD 1.55 billion (1.145 billion pounds).

SWARAJ ADDRESSES CHINA, NORTH KOREA

While speaking on China, Swaraj added that the stand-off following Doklam was status quo. She also addressed the situation of someone who was denied taking a dip at the Mansarovar river, which falls in China. "I got a tweet from someone who was visiting Mansarovar that they were not being allowed to take holy dip in the Mansarovar jheel. This wasn't the situation. There is always a designated place where you can take a bath, you cannot take dip just anywhere in the river," she said.

On North Korea, Swaraj said General VK Singh’s visit to that country was the aftermath of her meeting a North Korean official in Baku, Azerbaijan. “He had requested that an Indian official come to Pyongyang, so as soon as I returned, I directed General VK Singh to do the same,” she said.

ON PAKISTAN

While taking specific questions on Pakistan, Swaraj said that India was ready to talk on condition that Pakistan would end its state-sponsored terror.  “Terror and talks cannot go together, but talks on terror should be held,” she said.

She said that when she met former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, he had a four-point formula to end terror. “I told Nawaz saab that one formula was needed: get rid of terror,” she said.

Lashing out at Pakistan’s ability to distort history, she said, “The answer we got in response of what happened with Gilgit Baltistan Order 2018. was laughabale. They tried to teach us history. Pakistan always distorts history & doesn't believe in law. Only thing thing I felt while reading their answer was, 'look who's talking'.”

ON IRAN

Swaraj on Monday said that India was not pressurised by the United States over Iran, and said that India only follows sanctions by the United Nations and not by any specific country.

US President Donald Trump this month withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran that were suspended under the 2015 accord.

"India follows only U.N. sanctions, and not unilateral sanctions by any country," she said at a news conference in response at a question on India's response to the US decision.

India and Iran have long-standing political and economic ties, with Iran one of India's top oil suppliers.