A new podcast attempts to recast Vijay Mallya as a misunderstood patriot, but not everyone’s buying it. One LinkedIn post is cutting through the spin—with facts, court rulings, and a sharp reminder: “You still owe us a few answers.”
Strategy consultant Shubham Sharma spent ’14 hours poring over the Vijay Mallya podcast by Raj Shamani before weighing in. “No, Mr. Mallya, you’re not a misunderstood patriot or a scapegoat,” he writes. “And no, we don’t owe you an apology.”
In his LinkedIn post, Sharma counters Mallya’s narrative with a series of hard facts. First, the numbers: while Mallya claims a ₹6,203 crore default, Sharma says the actual debt crossed ₹9,000 crore across 17 public sector banks.
“These were restructured twice over a decade,” he notes. “By the time Kingfisher collapsed, unpaid dues snowballed with interest, penalties, and legal defaults.”
Mallya’s much-publicized offer to repay ₹4,000 crore? Sharma isn’t impressed. “If that’s his idea of justice, imagine settling your home loan at 45%.”
The post also challenges Mallya’s insistence that his luxury lifestyle was funded with “personal money.” Sharma points to CAG reports and income tax filings that tracked funds moving through the UB Group, blurring the line between private wealth and public default.
“If you don’t want the public to confuse your lifestyle with public default,” Sharma adds, “don’t fly hybrid dogs in private jets while 1,500 people are owed salaries.”
He also slams the years of legal wrangling that followed. “The Indian government didn’t act too harshly. It acted too patiently,” Sharma writes, citing Mallya’s repeated appeals and delays in extradition proceedings.
“DRT passed a binding recovery order. Courts across two countries called him a fugitive. The Enforcement Directorate traced every shell and every transfer,” Sharma concludes. “You tried to rewrite history. But the evidence still stands.”