'Defaulters Must Not Flaunt Money', RBI Governor Lashes Out On Vijay Mallya

Source: The Times of India| Image Courtesy: tahlkanews newindianexpress 

Tired of witnessing irresponsible behaviour on behalf of the supposedly rich and connected members of society, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan came open strongly against such acts. Speaking without directly taking names, he attacked Vijay Mallya, who recently threw a lavish gala for his birthday.

“If you flaunt your birthday bashes even while owing the system a lot of money, it does seem to suggest to the public that you don’t care. I think that is the wrong message to send. If you are in trouble, you should be cutting down your expenses,” said Rajan in The Times of India.

Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines reportedly owes ₹7,500 crore to banks. This, however, did not stop him from spending ludicrously for a party that hosted about 500 guests at a villa with international singer, Enrique Iglesias performing. Needless to point, such an event would have obviously involved expenditure of a large sum of money, which is a proportion of what he currently owes to banks.

Rather than trying to pay the debt with efficiency and speed, more money is being spent on entirely avoidable and unnecessary events. Outraged, he lashed out against such behaviour saying “The system has been geared to favouring those who have the ability to work the courts.The policy that you follow is that during good times you take the upside, but in bad times, you go to banks and ask how much of a haircut are you going to take?”

Along with this, Rajan has written a letter to all employees urging them to stand up against the wrongdoings and irresponsible acts of the rich and well-connected, stating no one should be able to get away without paying for their actions.

He goes on to elaborate how lack of action on behalf of the bank operators is only encouraging such behaviour, and posing a roadblock to our path of growth and development. Contrary to how some might perceive it, he states his stand is against wrongdoings and defaulters, and not the richer section of society.

In a 2,500-word letter to staff earlier this year, the governor had urged employees to go after the rich and powerful. “No one wants to go after the rich and well-connected wrongdoer, which means they get away with even more. If we are to have strong sustainable growth, this culture of impunity should stop. Importantly, this does not mean being against riches or business, as some would like to portray, but being against wrongdoing,” said Rajan in The Times of India.