New Delhi: Despite being under siege from banks and probe agencies for defaulting on huge loans, businessman Vijay Mallya is getting support from a small section of the political class.
Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda called him a "son of the soil", a day after senior National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah called him a "gentleman".
Gowda questioned the investigating agencies why money was not being recovered from other big defaulters.
"There are 60 other major people who have defaulted and only Mallya's case is hogging headlines in the media. Why? The media is bothered about Mallya because he is a Rajya Sabha member. Otherwise who is bothered about him and his case," Gowda told PTI.
It was Janata Dal (Secular) supremo Gowda's backing which had helped Mallya to become a Rajya Sabha member for two terms from Karnataka in 2002 and 2010.
Asked whether it was right to say that Mallya has fled the country, Gowda said, "As per the tweets which he posted, he is willing to cooperate with various wings of the government and judiciary to solve the problem. Don’t target a global businessman.”
On Friday, Abdullah said the liquor baron is a gentleman and not a crook as he is being makde out to be.
"He started a very good airline. Unfortunately that airline was his greatest failure. I will call him a gentleman,” Abdullah said.
This comes at a time when the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress are accusing each other of favouring Mallya. Congress leaders accused the BJP of helping him leave the country; while the BJP pointed out that he took all his loans when the UPA was in power.
Mallya, who left the country earlier this month, is now cooped up at his country home outside London seeking legal opinion.
He has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate to appear on March 18 in a case of money laundering.
The flamboyant businessman hit out at his detractors on Twitter saying he is not an absconder, but stopped short of committing his return.
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