Vijay Mallya takes to Twitter to reveal what made him escape the country without paying loan amount
Feb 2, 2017, 17:35 IST
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Squarely putting the blame for collapse of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) on the then government's policies and economic conditions, troubled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has said public funds were used to bail out state-owned Air India, but not the then "largest domestic airline", according to a news published by leading news agency. ALSO READ: Common man's expectation from Budget 2017Defending himself in a string of tweets, Mallya said all he sought was help related to policy change and not loans, questioning "public funds given to Air India".
"KFA collapsed with oil at $140 per barrel and state sales tax on top rupee devaluation. No FDI engine failures. Economic depression. Need more?" he asked in a tweet. ALSO READ: Cigarettes to get expensive
He further said: "And KFA being the largest domestic airline was the worst hit. Government bailed out Air India, but did not bail out KFA. So much for "favours"."
Mallya said he sought policy changes that he did not get, which hurt his airlines.
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He tweeted that he "begged for help" and not for loans, but policy changes -- declared goods status for fuel, flat rate of state sales tax instead of ad valorem, FDI.
Claiming that KFA is "India's largest and finest airline", he said, "It sadly failed purely due to economic and policy situations. I am humble enough to say sorry to employees and all stakeholders every day. I really wish government helped."