Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Jun 20: Employees of Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, questioning why dues owed by Vijay Mallya to banks were given priority over their unpaid salaries.
Calling Mallya a 'fugitive', they said he has ‘blood on his hands' and also regretted that the 'system failed them'.
"Mallya did not pay his Indian employees their salary, gratuity or compensation, but he paid and compensated his employees based in London and other foreign countries. This reflects very poorly on our country," the employees said.
"We the employees of Kingfisher Airlines wish to share with you that we have gone through a great ordeal as citizens of India and in the process discovered our rotten system which treats everyone in the same manner," the letter read.
"We tried various means: court, filed a criminal complaint with Jantar Mantar police station (Inspector advised to come through court as Mallya is very influential), labour commissioner, hunger strike etc. We have been running from pillar to post with no avail. We still get notice for unpaid income tax by Mallya. The system has failed us," they wrote in the letter.
Due to the liquidation process, the employees said they were unable to withdraw their provident fund amount. "Vijay Mallya had us during a personal meeting that banks won't be able to recover more than 5 percent of the loan amount," they claimed and alleged he was being helped by big shots.
They asked the government to break the nexus by punishing the culprits. "Mallya has blood on his hands. He should be brought back and punished for his crimes including abetment of suicide, as a deterrent for others and to restore faith in the law. As of now courts are not for justice but only a mean to harass the common man," the employees wrote.
"Your government still has one more year to go; we request you to wage a full-fledged war against corruption and corrupt. Kindly help us get justice and our wishes will definitely make you our Prime Minister again," they wrote in the letter addressed to the PM.
Mallya is facing a trial in UK court, which will decide if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving a total amount of Rs 9,000 crore. On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a fresh chargesheet against Vijay Mallya and United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) on charges of money laundering.