Democratic right to vote in Karnataka polls but can't travel to India: Vijay Mallya

Mumbai: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases in India, on Friday said it was his democratic right to vote in the Karnataka Assembly polls but he “cannot travel” to India.

Mallya had represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha.

“It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK,” Mallya told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate's Court where the hearing in his ongoing extradition trial is being held.

However, when asked about his opinion on the state polls, he said, “I haven't been following the politics there so cannot comment on the political developments.”

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The 62-year-old had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Rajya Sabha between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008.

The fugitive businessman was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before his the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016.