UPA gave sweet deal to Vijay Mallya, Gandhi family owned Kingfisher Airlines by proxy: BJP attacks Congress

Sep 13 (AZINS) The BJP on Thursday launched an all-out attack on the Congress alleging that sometimes it seemed like the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines was owned by the Gandhi family by proxy.

Attacking Congress president Rahul Gandhi at a press conference in Delhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the previous UPA government had given a "sweet deal" to the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines and its promoter Vijay Mallya to keep it afloat.

The BJP leader was responding to Rahul Gandhi's demand for a probe into Mallya's claim that he had met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving India.

He claimed that Rahul Gandhi was on the backfoot in the Mallya case as well as the entire Gandhi family travelled on the Kingfisher Airlines and their travel was upgraded to business class for free.

"Sometimes it seems the Airlines wasn't owned by Mallya but by Gandhi family in proxy. Benefits that Gandhi family got out of Kingfisher Airlines via business class upgradation, free tickets etc is in public domain," Patra said.

"The entire Gandhi family was in fact helping Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines with the sweet deal," Patra said, while showing a bunch of documents related to the loans given by banks to the airline.

"There is a series of letters between the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and the SBI (State Bank of India). These letters show us how the previous dispensation under Sonia Gandhi was biased, partial and kept all norms and regulations at bay to give a sweet deal to Kingfisher Airlines," he alleged.

Patra said Rahul Gandhi, who himself is out on bail (in the National Herald case), had no right to question others on corruption.

The war of words between the ruling BJP and the Congress was triggered after Mallya's statement yesterday that he had met Jaitley before leaving for the UK.