Ex-PM Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram helped Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines get loans despite poor financials, alleges BJP

New Delhi: Bhartiya Janta Party found fodder for attacking Congress party in the election season, alleging on Monday that Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram pulled strings to ensure that tycoon Vijay Mallya's sick airline Kingfisher Airlines got loans despite weak financials.

"We have emails, correspondence and letters that will expose hands that were pulling the strings...the hands belonged to then Prime Minister and then Finance Minister,"said Sambit Patra, Spokesperson of Bhartiya Janta Party citing letters and emails reported in the media. 

Patra added that questions remains unanswered whether 10 Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of Congress Party, was involved and alleged interference of 10 Janpath in all the decisions made by the UPA government.

Enforcement Directorate investigating loan default case have said that two initial tranches of loan worth Rs 350 crore were disbursed by IDBI bank to Kingfisher Airlines to clear the entire deal despite weak financials of the airline.

The total loan sanctioned and disbursed by IDBI was Rs 860.92 crore.

IDBI and SBI, who were initially unwilling to lend loans to the ailing airline went ahead and sanctioned loans to Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines. 

The BJP Spokesperson read out emails and letters, which Mallya sent to senior company officials, Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram between 2010 and 2013 regarding their intervention and facilitating loans to Kingfisher Airlines.  

On the earlier reports of the role of Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram in banks giving undue favour to Mallya's Kingfisher Airline, in a series of tweets on Friday, Mallya, who is in the UK, said that all he sought was help related to policy change; not loans. “I begged for help. Not for loans but policy changes — declared goods status for fuel, flat rate of state sales tax instead of ad Valorem, FDI etc,” said Vijay Mallya in a tweet.

Manmohan Sing and Chidambaram are expected to address the media later on Monday, but it is not known whether they will respond to the allegations