NEW DELHI: A day after the CBI submitted a video of the Mumbai jail cell where Vijay Mallya would be kept after extradition, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that Indian prisons are pretty decent places as far as fugitives like Mallya and Nirav Modi are concerned.

The Congress chief was speaking to reporters at an event organized by the Indian Journalists' Association in London .

When TOI asked Rahul how he thinks the government is handling Vijay Mallya's case and whether Indian jails are up to scratch, the Congress chief said that prisons in the country can be "difficult places". Gandhi, however, did not elaborate further and went on to target the government, claiming that it has a "lenient" approach towards economic offenders.

"Before leaving, Mallya met some senior BJP leaders. I won't name who, but he did meet them," the Gandhi scion alleged. "They (Modi government) are pretty lenient with these people," he said.

Alleging that the Modi government did not act against PNB scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, Rahul said that there are "relationships" between the fugitive diamantaires and the Prime Minister which come in the way of justice.

The Congress chief said that the real questions are - "How many jobs did Nirav Modi create? On what basis was he given Rs 35,000 crore? Why isn't the government trying to get him back?"

He asserted that justice should be the same for everyone and there is no need for a special jail cell for people like Mallya.

"I think Indian prisons are pretty decent places as far as Mr Mallya is concerned. Justice should be the same for all Indian people. Just because you are a Mallya ... does not mean you require a special jail. We believe in equality," he said.

Both Congress and BJP have been targeting each other over Vijay Mallya, who has defaulted on bank loans running into thousands of crores.

While the Congress blames the Modi government for letting Mallya flee to the UK, the BJP says that the fugitive is a "sin" of the erstwhile UPA government.

The CBI had yesterday submitted an eight-minute video of the Arthur Road Jail’s Barrack number 12 in the UK court to dismiss Mallya's charge that the prison cell does not have any natural light.

The closing arguments in Mallya’s case will take place on September 12 and the Indian authorities are positive that they have provided sufficient evidence to get him extradited.



In Video: Indian prisons are good enough for fugitives like Vijay Mallya, says Rahul Gandhi in London