Mallya row: Congress gives notice in Rajya Sabha

The party earlier asserted that the liquor baron was 'made to abscond'.

The controversy surrounding liquor baron Vijay Mallya who faces charges of money laundering, is set to rock the Parliament on Monday as the Congress party gave a notice on the matter in the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress has been attempting to corner the Centre over Mallya saying that the government was framing innocent people while offenders such as the former Kingfisher boss were allowed to leave the country.

"A non-bailable warrant (NBW) has been issued now. Earlier, a red corner notice was issued and later withdrawn. The entire government is trying to frame innocent people. In OROP they have arrested Wing Commander Sharma, Kanhaiya Kumar for falsely indicted. So, the government is hell bent of framing the innocent and they allowed people like Vijay Mallya to leave the country," Digvijay Singh told ANI here.

Earlier, a Hyderabad Court issued NBWs against Mallya and defunct Kingfisher Airlines' CFO A Raghunath and directed that the duo should be produced before the court on April 13.

The Congress earlier asserted that the liquor baron was 'made to abscond' since a lot of 'powerful' people would be in trouble if he opened his mouth.

"The reason why Mallya was allowed to abscond is because if he is investigated or if he decides to open his mouth, a lot of very powerful people in this county will be without their clothes," Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI.

Mallya, who is currently in the United Kingdom and is being sought out in India over charges of money laundering, claimed that the banks gave him loans after evaluating all aspects, adding that he is not trying to evade the law enforcement agencies but is on a personal visit.

In an e-mail interview with The Sunday Guardian, the business tycoon said he feels that he has already been branded a criminal in the country and, therefore, it was not the right time for him to return.

The government had earlier told the Supreme Court that Mallya had left India on March 2 following which the bench issued notice to him and sought his response within two weeks on pleas filed by a consortium of banks seeking direction for freezing his passport and his presence before the apex court.