BNGALURU: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing legal proceedings for alleged loan defaults by his group to the tune of over Rs 9,000 crore, got unexpected support from former PM and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda.
On Saturday, Gowda came to the defense of Mallya dubbing him as a “son of Karnataka” and refused to give credence to reports that Mallya ran away from the country.
Gowda even took objection to Mallya being termed as an “absconder”. The enforcement directorate has issued summons to Mallya and he has already replied to those.
“These days every airlines facing the losses, so no need to target a person who is a global businessman,” the JD(S) leader said.
According to official sources, the ED has issued summons for appearance on March 18 to Mallya. In his tweet, Mallya, said he will comply with the law of the land.
In 2010, Mallya has succeeded in clinching support from JD(S) headed by Gowda to enter the Rajya Sabha. Mallya, contesting as an independent also backed by the BJP, defeated the second Congress nominee, TV Maruthi, a silk merchant in Karnataka.
The JD(S) had then supported his candidature dubbing him as “son of the soil”.
