Ethics panel takes cognizance of Vijay Mallya issue

Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya has allegedly defaulted on over Rs 9,000 crore bank loans.

The Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha Monday took cognizance of the issue of independent member of the House Vijay Mallya, who had defaulted on a repayment of banks loans worth Rs 9,000 crore. The committee is headed by Congress member Karan Singh.

Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari had referred the matter to the committee after it was raised by several members in the House in the morning. “We have taken its cognizance… Now, we will proceed on it as per our rules,” Karan Singh told the media after a meeting of the committee. The committee was already scheduled to meet on Monday.

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“There were two more issues (on the agenda). We took it up as the third item,” he added. The committee did not go into the case, Singh said in response to a question. “We only took cognizance of the case,” he said. He refused to speculate about the outcome of the matter. “Ask any fortune-teller, why do you ask me?” he quipped.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav were among those who had given notices against Mallya to the Chairman.