Vijay Mallya's resignation rejected by Rajya Sabha chairman

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is facing a case of loan default of over Rs 9,400 crore, is all set to be expelled from the Rajya Sabha, after Chairman Hamid Ansari yesterday turned down his resignation on procedural grounds. The Ethics Committee has rejected it as well.

"Hamid Ansari, Chairman, Rajya Sabha does not accept the resignation of Vijay Mallya. Secretary General, Rajya Sabha writes to Sh. Mallya that his resignation letter does not conform to prescribed procedures & does not bear signature in original. As per Rule 213 of RS procedures, the resignation must be voluntary and genuine," Ansari's Officer on Special Duty, Gurdeep Singh Sappal said on Twitter, quoting from the Secretary General's letter.

His letter
From his abode in Britain, Mallya had sent a scanned copy of the resignation letter to Ansari in a bid to avoid expulsion saying he did not want his "name and reputation to be further dragged in mud." "And since recent events suggest that I will not get a fair trial or justice, I am hereby resigning as a member of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect," Mallya had said a day before the Ethics panel was set to recommend his expulsion.

Sources said the panel was unanimous in its decision that Mallya should no longer remain a member of the Upper House and found his reply to its notice unsatisfactory. The sources said the panel would submit its report before the Rajya Sabha today. A motion has to be introduced in the House and approved by it for termination of the membership of any MP.

Ethics Panel of the Upper House, which had taken up the matter, had unanimously decided in its April 25 meeting that Mallya should no longer remain a member of the House and was planning to recommend his expulsion in yesterday's meeting.