Vijay Mallya a 'Congress' baby; UPA forced bank to give him loans: BJP

NEW DELHI: Hitting back at Congress for questioning whether the Centre would seek Vijay Mallya's deportation, BJP said the industrialist was a "Congress' baby" and accused the previous UPA dispensation of helping him by forcing a bank to provide a loan of Rs 3,100 crore despite his company's poor finances.

"Mallya is a Congress' baby. When his company ( Kingfisher Airline) was on the verge of closure, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggested such private companies should be helped. The government pushed banks to give him a package of Rs 3,100 crore," BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said, adding Congress should come clean on its "deals" with him.

While around 25 cases have been initiated against Mallya under Modi government, his frozen bank accounts were opened under the then UPA government and he was given loan, he said.

"What was the compulsion of Congress that it helped Mallya time and again? It should make it clear instead of trying to mislead the nation by blaming Modi government. Why did you open his frozen accounts? Why did State Bank of India give him loan of Rs 3,100 crore despite his poor finances?" he asked.

Defending the NDA government over Mallya's departure for London, Sharma said there was no court order against his travel abroad when he left on March 3.

Congress today asked the government whether it will seek Mallya's deportation from the UK or would put his case in "cold storage" by going in for his extradition as, it claimed, was done in the matter related to Lalit Modi.

Sharma added that former IPL boss Lalit Modi, like Mallya, was a "product" of Congress.