Kingfisher Airlines founder Vijay Mallya is a “victim of flamboyance and arrogance rather than any political conspiracy”, Air Deccan founder G.R. Gopinath, who sold his no-frills airline to Mallya in 2007, has said.
The near-bankrupt Kingfisher Airlines has been grounded since 2012 and is said to owe banks over Rs 9,000 crore.
A regular at global partying circles, Mallya, whose interests include Formula One and an annual swimwear calendar, moved to London amid growing attention from the Indian law-enforcement agencies and courts.
Gopinath said Mallya had “not (been) wise” and though there was no political conspiracy against him, he had become a “hot potato” and was “politically abandoned”.
Mallya had borrowed money when the UPA was in power. Gopinath did not name any political party but cited how one party was disgruntled that he had been allowed to leave the country while its rival accused it of failing to take adequate action against him for defaulting on loans.
Gopinath, who once contested an election for the Aam Aadmi Party, acknowledged that Mallya had become a “poster boy for loan defaults” and, therefore, “both parties politically find him too close for comfort”, turning him into a “political football”.
Politicians from both parties had “been seen” socialising with Mallya and were witness to his extravagant habits, yet they accuse each other, Gopinath said.
He was critical of Mallya for fleeing the country and suggested he should have paid back his dues using the wealth from his other companies.
Gopinath conceded that the money required to acquire Air Deccan may have been one of the reasons for Kingfisher Airlines’ bankruptcy. PTI
But he underscored that Mallya was “forced” to buy the low-cost airline to make Kingfisher eligible to fly overseas, getting round a rule that “favoured” rival Jet Airways.
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