Indian media has no credibility, says Vijay Mallya

October 28, 2012
vijay_mallya_media

Greater Noida, October 28: Exactly a week after the government suspended Kingfisher's licence to fly, the airline's near bankrupt chief Vijay Mallya flew in from London on his private jet and headed to the F1 circuit on Saturday and slammed the Indian media.

"You believe that Indian papers have any credibility?" Mallya said in response to coverage of Kingfisher troubles. "There is no libel law in India so there is nothing you can do to bring them to book."

Downplaying the KFA crisis, Mallya in fact blamed the media for "blowing out of proportion" the issue that saw an employee's wife committing suicide as the airline had till this week not paid salaries since March.

"My CEO Sanjay Agarwal has said what was to be said. We will recapitalize the airline. We are doing our work (to restart operations) internally and will respond to DGCA. We have infused Rs 1,200 crore into Kingfisher this fiscal since April, 2012. How I do that (recapitalize) is for me to decide and whenever there is something to be conveyed, it will be," Mallya said.

Mallya walked into the paddock at the Buddh International Circuit, where mediapersons were in a large attendance. If there was speculation about his swagger being muted, he changed that impression the moment he chose to talk.

In a tweet ahead of his appearance, Mallya had said, "At the Buddh International F1 circuit.Sahara Force India qualifying prospects are secondary. Even sports journos focus only on Kingfisher." And another said: "I have learnt the hard way that in India wealth should not be displayed. Better to be a multi billionaire politician dressed in Khadi."

KFA's licence was suspended last Saturday as the airline had reportedly not paid employees, airports, the tax department and other vendors for months. Its debt-cum-losses topped Rs 15,500 crore.

However, Mallya put up a brave front and said he had played a role in reaching a settlement with employees who had threatened protest at the F1 venue as he had been abroad ever since the trouble at Kingfisher took a turn for the worse this month.

"There is no question of any protest or disturbance. First of all you can't get in here and you know that. Outside the track is 15km away and if they wanted to say something to me, they needn't come to Noida, they could have come to my house...I have always been available and if you are trying to say that whatever settlement was reached was without my participation, you are wrong... if I am not at my home grand prix, why should I be anywhere else?" Mallya said.

Reacting to Airports Authority of India looking into legal aspects of seizing his personal AirbusCorporate Jet to recover dues of Rs 293 crore, he said, "Wonderful. I don't owe anybody money. Why should my plane be at risk. It's so stupid."

Aviation minister Ajit Singh has spoken of the sick airline and said it is "very difficult, though not impossible, for it to restart operations". Accordingly, DGCA chief Arun Mishra has said he will first speak to other stakeholders whom KFA owes money before taking a call on revoking the licence suspension.


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News Network
March 31,2020

Hyderabad, Mar 31: Six people from Telangana who attended a religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin died due to the novel coronavirus, the state government said on Monday.

"Coronavirus has spread among some of those who attended a religious prayer meeting from March 13 to 15 at Markaz in Nizamuddin area in Delhi," according to an official release. "Among those who attended were some persons from Telangana."

Two of the six died at the Gandhi Hospital, one each in two private hospitals, and one each in Nizamabad and Gadwal towns, the statement said, without mentioning the time of their deaths.

The special teams under the collectors have identified the persons who came in contact with the deceased and they are shifted to the hospitals, it said.

Police and paramilitary personnel cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West in south Delhi on Monday and over 200 people have been kept in isolation in hospitals after several people who took part in a religious congregation there showed symptoms of coronavirus.

The Telagana government asked those who participated in the prayers to inform the authorities. It will conduct tests and offer treatment to them free of cost, according to the release.

The government also requested the people to alert if they come to know about those who participated in the prayers.

Earlier a separate government release said a person died of COVID-19 in Telangana, taking the toll to two and the total number touched 77 after six fresh cases were reported on Monday.

As many as 13 patients who underwent treatment for the virus were discharged on Monday, a media bulletin on COVID-19 issued by the state government said.

A techie, the first COVID-19 case in Telangana, has been discharged recently. The state now has 61 active cases, the bulletin said.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had on Sunday said barring a 76-year-old person, who had other ailments, the other patients were doing well.

Rao had said 25,937 people were under surveillance and being watched by 5,746 teams and they would be out of watch after completing their mandated 14-day quarantine period. He had said all those who are under observation would be out of vigil by April 7 if there are no fresh suspected cases.

"From March 30, their time is nearing completion. After that, they do not need to be under any surveillance. By April 7, we will have a situation of zero... We pray God that we should not get new cases,"

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News Network
May 8,2020

Aurangabad, May 8: At least 15 migrant workers, who were sleeping on the railway tracks while going back to their native places, were run over by a goods train between Maharashtra's Jalna and Aurangabad, officials said on Friday.

A senior railway official confirmed that 15 migrant labourers were run over by a goods train between Jalna and Aurangabad of Nanded Divison of South Central Railway.

The official said that the incident happened around 5.30 am on Friday when the migrant workers, who were on way back to their homes and sleeping on the railway tracks.

However, it is yet not clear from where this group hailed and where they were going.

Amid the nationwide lockdown, thousands of migrant workers stranded in several other cities have started their journey to return to their native places on foot.

The interstate bus service, passenger, mail and express train services have been suspended since March 24.

The railways has started running Shramik Special trains to transport the stranded migrants to their native places since May 1.

Till Thursday railways has run 201 Shramik Special trains.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and few others have been booked by the ED in a money laundering case even as the agency is conducting searches at his premises, officials said on Thursday.

They said a criminal case against the former chairman of the airlines has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a recent Mumbai Police FIR filed against him.

The Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at Goyal's premises in Mumbai on Wednesday and also questioned him after filing the case, they said.

The action is continuing, they added.

The Mumbai Police FIR pertains to charges of alleged fraud by Goyal and others against a Mumbai-based travel company.

Goyal has earlier been grilled by the central probe agency in a case filed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in September last year.

The agency had carried out similar raids, under the FEMA, in August last year against Goyal, his family and others.

ED has alleged in the past that the businessman's empire had 19 privately-held companies, five of which were registered abroad.

The agency is probing charges that these firms allegedly carried out “doubtful” transactions under the guise of selling, distribution and operating expenses.

The ED suspects that expenses at these companies were allegedly booked at fake and high costs and as a result, they “projected” huge losses.

Alleged shady aircraft lease transactions with non-existent offshore entities are also under the ED scanner and it is suspected that Jet Airways made payments for lease rental to “ghost firms”, which purportedly routed the ill-gotten money in Goyal's companies.

A full-service carrier, Jet Airways shut its operations in April last year after running out of cash.

A month earlier, Goyal had stepped down as the chairman of Jet Airways.

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