Click to play videoThe world's richest brothers – Mukesh and Anil Ambani – are fighting over the price of natural gas. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora clarifying the Centre’s stand on the dispute said in Parliament that the government was neutral and has nothing to do with private disputes of industries.
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) and elder brother Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd are fighting the bitter legal battle over the supply and pricing of gas from the fields off the Andhra Pradesh coast.
The Union Government said gas will be supplied from Mukesh's company to Anil's Dadri plant once that plant becomes functional. But Anil said Mukesh is deliberately trying to sabotage his Dadri power plant.
Taking on the government, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh in Parliament alleged that the government was discriminating against his home state over supply of natural gas for the Dadri power project of Reliance Natural Resources and asked Deora to quit.
Earlier 30 Left MPs wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to take over marketing and distribution of Krishna-Godavari Basin gas that is to be supplied to Anil Ambani's proposed power plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.
The question that was asked on CNN-IBN’s Face The Nation was: Should politicians intervene in a corporate dispute?
To try and answer the question on the panel of experts were: MP and Congress spokesperson, Jayanthi Natarajan; Senior Associate Editor, Business Standard Sunil Jain; CPI National Secretary and MP D Raja; Samajwadi Party senior leader Mohan Singh and General Secretary Samajwadi Party, Amar Singh.
At the start of the show, 24 per cent of those who voted in said yes, the politicians should intervene in a corporate dispute while 76 per cent disagreed.
Congress and Ambani gas war
Defending the government, Jayanthi Natarajan said it is preposterous to even say that the party or the government has a vested interest in the dispute. Taking on the SP, she said that their reaction on the matter seems to be politically motivated to attack the government.
Replying to Natarajan, Amar Singh said that his remarks against the Government have nothing to do with his friendship with Anil Ambani. The leader said he agrees with the 30 Left MPs who wrote to the PM and added that it isn’t fair if 99 per cent of the profit goes to Reliance and one per cent to the government.
Making Left’s stand clear on the issue, D Raja said that Left is not a party which intervenes in corporate matter but because it is related to the natural resources of the country and the Government is the sole custodian of these resources they want the PM to take immediate steps on the matter.
Ambani gas row
A pact was made between Mukesh and Anil Ambani in 2005 where Mukesh Ambani agreed to supply gas at $2 per unit and in 2006 the price was set at $4 per unit.
But on June 15 Bombay High Court asked Mukesh Ambani to honour family commitment to supply gas at $2 per unit. And then suddenly the Government woke up that it is sovereign in the Krishna-Godavari Basin and decided that this pact doesn’t apply and they should go according to the empowered group of ministers’ price.
Talking about the Bombay HC’s decision, Sunil Jain said till the Supreme Court doesn’t gives its verdict on the issue the Ambanis have to go with the Bombay HC’s decision. He added that as the HC had made it clear that the MoU between the brothers is well within the product sharing contract the Government has no right to interfere.
Natarajan denied that the government is intervening in the matter and said that it has said that gas is a national asset and it belongs to nobody. She reiterated that after an issue like this is raised in Parliament it is very unfair on part of other parties to say that the government is taking sides.
Is the government biased?
Mohan Singh emphasised the government is trying to benefit one particular corporate house. He said that it is known to everyone that Government had always refused to intervene in RIL issues saying that it is their companies’ matter but all of a sudden after Bombay HC gave its verdict it felt that it should intervene which shows the government’s bias.
He also denied that they are batting for Anil Ambani and said it for the country that they are taking up this issue.
Explaining the demands of the Left, Raja said the empowered group of ministers should try to revise the prices of gas and should try to put in place a transparent pricing policy.
Final SMS/Web poll: Should politicians intervene in a corporate dispute?
Yes: 25 per cent
No: 75 per cent
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