What Vijay Mallya exactly said outside the UK court
The controversy started on Wednesday, outside a London court when fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya spoke to reporters during his extradition hearing at the Westminster Magistrates' Court. The 62-year-old businessman claimed that he had met the finance minister before leaving the country in 2016. When asked by reporters if he was "tipped off" to leave the country, Mallya said, "I left because I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the finance minister before I left, repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth."
How Arun Jaitley came into the picture
Jaitley was the finance minister in 2016 when Mallya left India. He is also the current finance minister.
What Arun Jaitley said on his meeting with Mallya
Within hours of Mallya's statement, Jaitley wrote a Facebook post and denied the claim, calling it "factually false".
Jaitley's Facebook post on Mallya titled 'The Factual Situation'
"Since 2014, I have never given him any appointment to meet me and the question of his having met me does not arise," the finance minister said. "The statement is factually false in as much as it does not reflect truth," he asserted.
When Vijay Mallya was a member of Parliament
Mallya was elected as Rajya Sabha MP in 2002 and 2010, both times as an independent candidate.
Barrack 12 at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail
Calling himself a "scapegoat", Mallya sarcastically described the video of Barrack 12 at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, which has been prepared for him, as "very impressive". At the previous hearing in July, Judge Arbuthnot had asked the Indian authorities to submit a "step by step video" of Barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail for "the avoidance of doubt" over the availability of natural light in the cell where the businessman is expected to be detained pre-trial, during trial and in the event he is convicted by the Indian courts.
Charges on Vijay Mallya
Mallya has been on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year and is fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore (Kingfisher Airlines loan case).
Mallya's extradition trial
The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya. It also seeks to prove there are no "bars to extradition" and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crores in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.
What Mallya's defence team has to say
The controversial liquor baron's defence team has deposed a series of expert witnesses to claim he had no "fraudulent" intentions and that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India.
The final date of verdict in Mallya's extradition case
London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday fixed December 10 as the date to deliver its verdict on whether Mallya can be extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering.
What CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury slammed the NDA dispensation over Mallya's claim that he met the finance minister before leaving India, and said it reconfirmed how the Modi government "enables big defaulters to loot public money and scoot".
What Congress said
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the finance minister of "colluding" with Mallya and demanded that he (Jaitley) tender his resignation.
BJP's defence
In an all-out attack against the Congress, the BJP on Thursday alleged that the previous UPA government had given a "sweet deal" to the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines to keep it afloat. "The entire Gandhi family was in fact helping Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines with the sweet deal," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said.