Unaware of Vijay Mallya’s U-turn, Rahul Gandhi tweets ‘Arun Jaitley should step down as Finance Minister’

Possibly unaware of Vijay Mallya’s massive u-turn on his own claim regarding meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving India, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has issued a tweet demanding Jaitley to step down as Finance Minister. Gandhi has also urged the Prime Minister to immediately order an independent probe into the matter.

"Given Vijay Mallya’s extremely serious allegations in London today, the PM should immediately order an independent probe into the matter. Arun Jaitley should step down as FInance Minister while this probe is underway," tweeted the Congress President.

Vijay Mallya, who appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ court in London on Wednesday for the final hearing of his extradition case, interacted with journalists during the recess and claimed that he had met with the Finance Minister before he left India. His statement, however, got a strong rebuttal from Finance Minister who while hitting back at Mallya said he never gave any appointment to the latter since 2014.

WATCH | Within Minutes Of Arun Jaitley Countering Him Publicly, Vijay Mallya Does A Massive U-turn And Says He Didn't Have A Formal Meeting With The Finance Minister

What followed was even more ironic as within minutes of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley issuing a video statement denying that he had held a formal meeting with

Vijay Mallya, the latter did a massive u-turn on his claim, saying “I didn't have any formal meeting with the Finance Minister.”

Vijay Mallya appeared in London's Westminster Magistrates' court for his final extradition hearing. During the hearing, a video of the Barrack no.12 of Arthur road jail in Mumbai, wherein Mallya would be lodged if extradited to India, was submitted before the court for the review of the judges.

WATCH | “Very Impressive", Says Vijay Mallya After Seeing Video Of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail Where He May Be Lodged

When Mallya was asked about his take after seeing the video of Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail, Mallya cheekily said, “very impressive”.

Meanwhile, Republic TV on Wednesday accessed secret papers which expose Congress Government’s sweet deal with Mallya. The papers show correspondences, dated August 2010, between SBI and RBI, which expose on how Congress authored a separate exclusive deal only for Kingfisher Airlines. The letter trail proves that the then Finance Ministry put pressure on RBI to break propriety to favour Vijay Mallya.

Vijay Mallya is an alleged financial offender who is facing charges of bank fraud and money laundering in India, amounting to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore. Mallya, who has been in the UK since March 2016 is wanted in India for defaulting on bank loans. He was arrested by the Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant in April this year.