’Suits the BJP to say I ran away’: Vijay Mallya’s reply to govt

London: Beleaguered liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who is facing extradition to India to answer charges of fraud and money laundering, on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement that assets worth much more the amount he owes to banks have been seized "vindicates" his stand that he is a BJP's "poster boy".

"I humbly submit that my assertion that I am a poster boy is fully vindicated by the PM's own statement about me (by name) that his Govt has recovered more than what I allegedly owe the Banks," Mallya said in a tweet.

"Fact that I have been a UK resident since 1992 ignored. Suits the BJP to say I ran away," said the businessman who is awaiting the outcome of his appeal against British Home Secretary Sajid Javed's green signal to his extradition.

In a recent interview to TV channel Republic Bharat, Modi said that his government had confiscated his properties worth ₹14,000 crore - which was more than the ₹9,000 crore Mallya owed to a consortium of India banks.