Vijay Mallya met BJP leaders before he fled India: Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday commented on the controversy over condition of Indian jails, particularly the one where liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be lodged after his extradition and said that "justice should be same for all and Mallya can't have a different jail".

Interacting with Indian Journalists Association in London, Gandhi said, "Justice should be same for all Indian people, it shouldn't be that just because you are Mallya and have Rs 9,000 crores in the bank, you require a different jail than other people in India."

He also created a stir by claiming that Mallya had met ruling BJP leaders before fleeing India. While the BJP has since dared him to name the leaders, Gandhi has refused to elaborate any further. Interacting with Indian journalists in London, Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for going easy on Mallya. "Before Mallya left India, he met senior BJP leaders, that is documented. I won't name them," he said. At another gathering, he accused Modi of destroying institutions like the judiciary, Election Commission and also the Reserve Bank. He also accused the PM of insulting Indians by saying that there was no development in the country before 2014.

"India shows the future to the world. The people of India made this possible and the Congress helped them. If the prime minister says nothing had happened before he assumed office, he is not commenting on the Congress, he is insulting every person of the country," Gandhi said.