Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary a.k.a. Sujana Chowdary is generally a media-shy man.
He hardly addresses press conferences in New Delhi or in Hyderabad, leave alone giving special interviews to any media persons.
This gentleman on Friday was forced to address a media conference in Hyderabad following the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him following a complaint from a Mauritius bank for alleged loan default of Rs 100 crore.
The warrant follows Sujana’s refusal to attend the court for three times despite summons in the past.
And Sujana faltered a lot before the media while trying to defend himself. First, he said he had not defaulted in repayment of any loan to the Mauritius bank, but was only a guarantor to another company, Hestia Holdings based in Mauritius.
But he tried to hide the fact that this particular company was a subsidiary of his own group Sujana Universal Industries.
The minister tried to excuse himself saying that he was not a director of the defaulted company and that had only one per cent share.
Secondly, he put forth a strange argument, saying defaulting repayment of loan did not amount to fraud. How can that be? If that is the case, what liquor baron Vijay Mallya did is also not a fraud.
Who would repay the loan, then? Come on, Mr Chowdary, don’t take people for a ride!
