Congress mocks Mallya’s Bhagoda economics remark

New Delhi

The Congress party criticized the Modi government on Friday following fugitive liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya’s claim that he informed then-Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving India in 2016. Congress said this shows the government’s system is weak and called it a surrender. They also mocked the government’s economic policies, changing the popular term pakoda economics to bhagoda economics — a pun linking Mallya’s escape to the earlier joke about selling pakoras creating jobs.

Congress shared a video clip from a podcast where Mallya said he told Jaitley about his departure for London and Geneva before flying out. He explained that while Jaitley first denied meeting him, a Congress MP later saw them together, forcing Jaitley to admit a brief encounter. Mallya insisted he never said he had a formal meeting, only that he informed Jaitley about his travel plans and asked him to help banks settle with him.

Congress leader Pawan Khera posted the clip, accusing the government of helping Mallya flee. Jairam Ramesh, another Congress official, ridiculed the government with his pakoda to bhagoda economics remark.

Mallya fled to the UK in 2016 after defaulting on loans worth about Rs 9,000 crore taken for Kingfisher Airlines. India has been trying to extradite him, but he claimed banks and the government rejected his offers to repay the money.