New Delhi, June 6 – The Congress on Friday targeted the Modi government over fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s alleged remark that he had informed the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about it before leaving the country in 2016. In this regard, the Congress said that “Narendra’s entire system has surrendered”.
In another dig, the opposition party also said that the Modi government’s “pakora economics” has been replaced by “runaway economics”. It is worth noting that the Congress often mocks the government by using the term ‘pakoranomics’, which is a clear reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark in 2018, when Modi had said that selling ‘pakoras’ is also a job.
The Congress recently shared a video clip of a podcast Mallya did with social media influencer Raj Shamani in which he claimed that he had informed Jaitley before leaving India in 2016. The party said that “it is clear that the Modi government had a hand in the businessman fleeing the country”.
The party’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also posted the same clip.
Mallya can be heard saying in the clip, “I told Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving for the airport and then I flew from Delhi to London, I was going to Geneva for the FIA ??World Council meeting which was scheduled months ago. I told the Finance Minister because I had gone from Parliament to Delhi airport. When this news came in the media, it created a storm once again.”
He said, people rushed to Jaitley who refused to meet him. Then, a Congress MP saw them together and told the media. “Mr Jaitley had to retract his statement and said, ‘Yes, yes I met him but just walking around, it was a casual meeting’.
 I never said that I went to Mr Jaitley’s office, sat in front of him, had tea with him… I only said that on my way I told the Finance Minister, I am going to London, I have to go to Geneva for a meeting, I will be back, please tell the banks to sit at the table and negotiate with me.”