Reliance uses social media to refute Kejriwal's allegations

Reliance Industries on Thursday took to social media to refute allegations of receiving favours from a Gujarat minister who is related to company promoter Mukesh Ambani, saying that the allegations are baseless and politically motivated.

RIL uploaded a video on YouTube to refute AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's March 7 allegation that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made Ambani family's son-in-law Saurabh Patel a minister for energy, petrochemicals and mining because of his "close relations with Mukesh Ambani".

In the video, link of which was circulated to media by the company's corporate communication department, an unnamed person in the less than 3-minute video in Hindi refutes allegations made by Kejriwal.

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Without naming Kejriwal or Patel, the company in the video says the allegations levelled are "baseless, unwarranted and politically motivated to mislead people".

"The statement is fraught with poor knowledge of the constitutional scheme and is aimed only to misinform. The concerted action of the parties... has caused injury to our unblemished record of service to the economic well-being of India," RIL said in the covering email sharing the video link.

Without naming Kejriwal, it said: "A strange and irresponsible statement by a political leader at the India Today Conclave on March 7, 2014 was aired live and placed on the social media." 

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"It is therefore, incumbent upon us to place the record straight. Accordingly, a video release is being shared," it said.

Patel, who is the Minister for Energy and Petrochemicals, Mines and Minerals, Salt Industries, Printing, Planning, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Labour and Employment in the Modi government, couldn't have helped Reliance even if he wanted to, the man in the video claims. 

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He goes on to say that constitutionally natural gas and petroleum are Central subjects over which state governments don't have any jurisdiction.

Admitting that the minister in question indeed was related to the Ambani family, the video says it was being alleged that Patel favoured RIL in natural gas, energy and mining business.

RIL, it said, was exploring for natural gas off the coast of Andhra Pradesh which is 1,500-km from Gujarat and as such gas is a Central subject.

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Petroleum also is a central subject and the company had set up a refinery in Gujarat "long back". Also, oil refining is a deregulated business and any entity can set up a refinery.

RIL has no mining business in Gujarat, it said, adding all the power used by its units in the state come from captive or self generated power plants and not from state grid.

The allegations of the ministers extending favours to Reliance in gas, petroleum, energy and mining business are untrue, it added.