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Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has finally broke his silence over the constant barrage of allegations levelled by his younger brother Anil in relation to the gas row between the two.
In a media statement, RIL said that Anil Ambani is carrying out an orchestrated campaign to prejudge a legal dispute. Refuting Anil's allegations, the RIL statement said that Anil's outburst is an attempt to malign RIL and venerable public institutions.
RIL said it refutes and rejects baseless and motivated allegations and insinuations against the company and its chairman, Mukesh Ambani.
The statement said that the personal comments made by Anil have saddened Mukesh Ambani and that RIL's legal advisors have asked the company not to comment.
RIL said that it hoped 'Anil will not publicise allegations and let the courts decide (the case).
RIL also adviced Anil not to make things public and to exercise restraint.
"Our objective is to act in a manner which is consonant with law of land and in national interest. RIL is the only a contractor engaged by the Government to harness gas in the Krishna-Godavari basin," the statement read.
"As contractor, we have all times acted with full sense of responsibility and with complete compliance of our role as contractor. The assets created from our investment will accelerate India's economic growth and contribute to energy security. RIL has chosen to refrain from reacting to malicious propaganda unleashed by Anil Ambani," the statement added.
RIL's statement makes it clear that the investment in Krishna-Godavari basin was made after the Reliance empire was split between the two brothers.
Both the Ambani brothers are engaged in a bitter war over the pricing of gas from the Krishna-Godavari gas fields.
Following is the RIL statement:
Over the last few days, Mr Anil Ambani and his associates have made several public statements commenting on issues arising out of the proceedings filed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India by his company, Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. (RNRL), the Government of India and Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL).
Mr Anil Ambani's public statements, many of which have been made directly to the press, are a part of an orchestrated campaign designed to bring into public debate and prejudge the issues that are pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.
He and his associates have attempted to convert what are essentially legal issues into public issues for a self-serving media campaign aimed at maligning RIL as also other venerable institutions of the country for private and personal gain.
We emphatically refute and outrightly reject the baseless, tendentious and motivated allegations and insinuations made by Mr Anil Ambani and his associates against RIL and its Chairman, Mr Mukesh Ambani.
We would like to assure the people of India, the Government of India, Honourable Members of Parliament and all our shareholders that our objective, is to act at all times in a manner that is fully in consonance with our respect for the law of the land and is protective of the nation's interests.
We have consistently maintained that in the KG Basin RIL is only a contractor engaged by the Government of India to harness the basin's hydrocarbon assets in the best interest of the nation.
As contractor to the government operating one of the largest and logistically one of the most difficult deep water gas discoveries anywhere in the world, we have at all times acted with a full sense of responsibility and in complete compliance with all obligations attached to our role as the contractor.
RIL is proud of having made an important contribution to India's energy security. The asset that has been created by our investment of over Rs 32, 000 crore will accelerate India's economic growth and create large scale employment. Significantly, this investment in developing the KG Basin has been made after the demerger of Reliance Industries in 2005.
As a law abiding and responsible corporate citizen, RIL has chosen to refrain from reacting to the malicious propaganda unleashed by Mr Anil Ambani in the national media. Our legal advisors have also counseled us to refrain from commenting on issues being adjudicated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. As such, we shall continue to exercise restraint in the face of Mr Anil Ambani's provocative public statements.
We hope that Mr Anil Ambani and his associates will also exercise similar restraint and leave the matter to be decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
Members of the media have rightfully sought our responses to Mr Anil Ambani's comments on numerous occasions. However, we believe and hope that the media will understand and appreciate that our respect for the judicial process determines that we present our views and contentions on all aspects of the dispute with RNRL only before the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
During the course of his media campaign, Mr Anil Ambani has also made several personal comments about his elder brother and the Chairman of RIL, Mr Mukesh Ambani. While Mr Mukesh Ambani is profoundly saddened by his brother's remarks, he requests the media to respect his decision not to respond.