Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya has resigned from Rajya Sabha, just a day before Ethics Committee of the Upper House was set to recommend his expulsion.
His resignation comes in response to the Rajya Sabha ethics panel which had unanimously recommended termination of his membership from the House during a meeting on April 25. They had given him a week's time to respond to the panel.
Vijay Mallya resigns from Rajya Sabha, writes to chairman of Rajya Sabha & Ethics committee chairman
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 2, 2016
The panel was to meet tomorrow (May 3) to take a final decision on Mallya's membership in the House.
In his resignation letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, he said he does not want his "name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud".
And since recent events suggest that I will not get a fair trial or justice, I am hereby resigning as a member of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect," Mallya said in the letter.
He also referred to the letter written to him by the Chairman of the Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha Karan Singh and said he had replied to Singh.
Mallya is an independent member of the House from Karnataka and is facing legal proceedings for alleged loan defaults by his group to the tune of over Rs 9,000.
He was elected twice to the Upper House - once in 2002 and again in 2010.
Mallya also thanked the Rajya Sabha Chairman and his "colleagues in the House for all the cooperation" that he received during his two terms.
He said he received a letter from panel Chairman Karan Singh dated April 25 in which it was stated that the Rajya Sabha Chairman had referred an issue to the Committee on Ethics regarding "purported default" by Mallya in the "repayment of bank loans", which have "not been reflected" in his declaration of assets and liabilities.
Mallya said the letter further stated that in a meeting "purportedly held" on May 25, the Committee on Ethics unanimously felt that he should be expelled from the Rajya Sabha.
Appending a copy of his reply to Karan Singh, Mallya, who faxed his resignation to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, asserted, "The allegations against me are blatantly false and baseless."
"I am shocked that the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India has provided factually wrong information to a Parliament Committee," he added.
"Nevertheless since I do not want my name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud and since recent events suggest that I will not get a fair trial or justice, I am hereby resigning as a member of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect," Mallya said.
In the panel meeting, JD-U President Sharad Yadav had strongly pitched for immediate recommendation for Mallya's expulsion.
"It has been decided that he should be expelled. All members agreed to it," Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav had told reporters after a meeting of the committee.
Following his failure to appear before a special court and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on three ocassions in the money laundering case, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had revoked Mallya's passport.
A special court had also filed a non-bailable warrant against the beleaguered businessman.
With PTI Inputs
