Reliance Industries Ltd is planning legal action against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal for defaming the company and its chairman, Mukesh Ambani.
The conglomerate is reportedly readying a case against Kejriwal, who resigned as Chief Minister of Delhi on Friday, and others for levelling “baseless allegations” against it and Ambani and hurting corporate interests. But Reliance officials remained tight-lipped about when the case would be filed.
“We will do whatever is required legally to safeguard our interests and reputation,” RIL officials said.
Reliance officials did not issue an official statement on Saturday, a day after Kejriwal spoke out against Mr. Ambani again when resigning as Chief Minister.
“We deny these irresponsible allegations and propose to resort to the available legal remedies to protect our reputation and preserve the pioneering efforts and investment made by Reliance so far,” the company said on Tuesday.
Kejriwal, as Chief Minister, ordered the registration of an FIR against Mr. Ambani and others for alleged irregularities in the pricing of gas from the KG Basin.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has taken a political decision to attack big corporates and has alleged that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are hand in glove with such interests.
Soon after Kejriwal ordered filing of the FIR on Tuesday, RIL stock witnessed selling pressure. But Deven Choksey, market analyst and managing director, KR Choksey Shares & Securities, does not believe so. “The market knows the calculations. Now that the allegations have been made, they should establish the charges. The dust will settle soon,” Choksey said.
Power tariffs are also a major topic of debate in Delhi, the epicentre of AAP’s political movement, as the party makes a bid to come to power on its own in the State.
The power utility companies of Mukesh Ambani’s brother, Anil Ambani, and a Tata company are facing the wrath of AAP in Delhi. These companies have challenged the Delhi government’s move to audit their accounts.
(This news report was first published in >The Hindu edition dated February 16, 2014.)