Thursday 02 / May / 2024
Mumbai, Mar 9 (PTI) Even as lenders turned the heat on
beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya, former employees from
his long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines on Wednesday held a
protest here seeking help from the government and Supreme
Court to ensure quick disbursal of their outstanding salaries
and dues.
Hundreds of employees who once worked for Kingfisher have
not received their remuneration and service benefits since the
luxury carrier grounded in October 2012 following a major
financial crisis with huge loans, and payment defaults
including to oil companies, airports and tax authorities.
About 30 employees on Wednesday held a protest at the
Kingfisher House near the domestic airport here, demanding
that their pending salaries and dues be paid.
The protest came even as reports said that Mallya had left
the country a week back.
The employees also alleged that they were under scanner of
tax authorities as Kingfisher had failed to deposit the TDS
with the income tax department.
"Our TDS was deducted by the company but the same has not
been paid to the tax department as a result of which we are
being served with tax notices now," Anirudha Ballal, an
ex-employee of Kingfisher told PTI.
"We want that the government, the Supreme Court and the
debt recovery tribunal to take initiative to make Mallya pay
the dues," he said.
The employees have alleged that Mallya, who has been
giving them false promises, has been able go away scot free by
eliciting "political favours".
They also felt that British liquor major Diageo which
acquired a majority 53.4 per cent stake in United Spirits
should pay up for the liabilities that the Mallya-group owes
to its employees.
According to Ballal, several employees had to face various
difficulties following the fiasco. While some have found jobs
at salaries less than what they were earning at Kingfisher,
some have not been so lucky.
The Debt Recovery Tribunal, on Monday, barred Mallya from
accessing USD 75 million (Rs 515 crore) exit payment from
Diageo till the loan default case with SBI is settled while
the ED registered a money laundering case against him in
another default case.
Rejecting allegations that he is an "absconder" in the
wake of his statement to spend more time in England, the
liquor baron has promised to continue to cooperate with
investigative agencies related to the loans provided by banks
to long-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. PTI SSM
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