Union Minister Nitin Gadkari questions labeling of Mallya as wilful defaulter, wants to give second chance

MUMBAI: At a time when the Modi government is engaged in a legal batle to get fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya extradited back to India, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has questioned the rationale behind declaring him ‘a wilful defaulter’ and said if he had failed as a businessman, he should get another chance.“If Nirav Modi or Vijay Mallya have committed fraud then send them to jail, but if we label everyone who is in financial trouble as fraudsters, then the economy will not progress,” Gadkari said on Thursday. He was speaking at Times Networks India Economic Conclave in the city.Gadkari said years ago, Mallya had taken a loan from Sicom, a Maharashtra state government enterprise, and was regular in servicing the loan.“If a person was repaying debt for 40 years, and due to some issues he is not able to meet his debt obligations later, can you declare him a wilful defaulter?” Gadkari asked. He said it was only after entering the aviation business that Mallya could not repay loans.Blaming bankers for the country’s NPA mess, Gadkari on Thursday said India’s banking system was such that it didn’t support sick companies. He called for a more pragmatic approach towards banks’ bad loan resolution process, saying businesses go through cycles and when a company is going through a downward cycle, it needs support. “There are risks in the business, be it banking or insurance, there are ups and downs. But, if the mistakes are bona fide, forgive him and give him another chance,” he said.When quizzed about BJP’s loss in three state polls earlier this week, Gadkari said it was an unsaid truth that Indian politics operated on three things — cash, caste and criminals. “Anything can happen in cricket and politics. There are things that influence people's decisions at the village panchayat level, district level, state level and national level — one can’t always gauge the diverse factors at play.”He also said the recent poll results were not a mandate on BJP’s developmental model. “No one wants to take the credit for defeat. But our development model has been strong and the recent polls are not sole indicators of what we’ve done... some people play cheap politics and try to score,” he said.