Kejriwal takes on Ambani, says gas prices hiked to benefit RIL

NEW DELHI: India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwaltoday publicly levelled charges of a shady nexus between Congress,BJP and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

Kejriwal alleged that RIL kept oil production low 'to blackmail the government' and also charged that the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party were 'in Mukesh Ambani's pocket' as huge benefits were given to RIL despite violation in contracts.

Jaipal Reddy was removed as petroleum minister for refusing a proposal of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries to hike the charges of the gas it was supplying to state-owned power plants, India Against Corruption member Arvind Kejriwal charged Wednesday, demanding that the Krishna Godavari basin allotted to the company be cancelled.

"Mukesh Ambani is running the country it seems... Jaipal Reddy was removed as he refused to hike the charges being levied by Reliance Industries to supply gas to NTPC," Kejriwal said at a press conference.

He said the government looked helpless before the corporate group.

According to Kejriwal, the KG basin was awarded to Reliance in 2000 by the NDA government when the corporate agreed to supply gas to the National Thermal Power Corp for the next 17 years at $2.5 per unit.

But, said Kejriwal, the company revised the rate to $4.25 per unit in 2007 which then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee agreed to as the head of an empowered group of ministers.

The IAC activist also alleged that the hike in gas prices will benefit RIL by Rs 43,000 crore and such perks doled out will lead to price rise in the country.

Kejriwal further said that the RIL gas deal was signed by the NDA government and implemented by UPA govenment.

Kejriwal had earlier targetted Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, DLF's land deals in Haryana, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari in the Maharashtra irrigation scam and Salman Khurshid for his NGO's functions in Uttar Pradesh.

On Tuesday, BJP mouthpiece Kamal Sandesh asked the Union government to investigate the possible foreign funding of Kejriwal. Ironically, this happened at a time when Congress mouthpiece Congress Sandesh also attacked Kejriwal for "hit-and-run" tactics without naming him.

"The main game of Kejriwal may be related to funding. We should know if the funds belong to India or the forces which want to weaken the country. The government should find out who has given the 'supari' to Kejriwal," the Kamal Sandesh edit says. However, the sharply-worded edit in the latest issue of Kamal Sandesh does not substantiate the charges made.

Kejriwal hit back at the BJP: "They have said we are being foreign funded. The list of all donors to this movement is on our website. I challenge the BJP. If the BJP has the guts and courage, let it put the list of all the donors to the party in the last 10 years."

The Congress also attacked Kejriwal in its mouthpiece without naming him. "We have seen the self-appointed guardians of morality and probity in public life. Their hit-and-run approach to the so-called scams has proved beyond doubt that they crave just for media attention."

Mukesh Ambani rejects Kejriwal's allegation of corruption

 Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, India's richest person, has said in a statement that theallegations made by anti-graft crusader Arvind Kejriwal are "devoid of any truth or substance whatsoever".

"Irresponsible allegations made by IAC at the behest of vested interests without basic understanding of the complexities of a (Krishna-Godavari Basin) project of this nature do not merit a response," Reliance said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The allegations made front page news in all the leading English and vernacular national dailies of the country.

Kejriwal's allegations were unlikely to have a long-term impact onReliance shares, analysts said, but the this latest expose did impact the groups shares, as it was evident when the market opened in Mumbai on Thursday.

"From yesterday's closing price, Reliance industries have come down by, as I am talking to you, 10 rupees ($0.18), which is 1.25 percent down from yesterday's closing. Obviously theirs slight cautiousness in the market, investors are cautious and after the media briefing of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, where he alleged a nexus between the group and the politicians. So maybe at this point of time the reason is that the investors may feel some nervousness and that's the reason it is down by 1.25 percent," said Sunil Shah, a market expert.

Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Asia's second-richest man, had clashed with the former oil minister Jaipal Reddy over gas output at the conglomerate's KG-D6 block on Andhra coast.

While Reliance has long been perceived by many Indians as politically influential, investors say the firm's relationship with New Delhi has recently been fractious as a result of the performance of its flagship gas project on the east coast.

Reliance and its partner BP Plc have blamed technical problems for falling gas production, and have sought permission to charge higher prices to cover spending, but the government has so far refused to approve higher gas fees.

Arvind Kejriwal set for another expose today, target yet to be known

Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwalis reportedly all set to for another 'expose' on Friday, the fourth byIndia Against Corruption (IAC).

However, it is not clear as to who his latest target will be.

In his last expose on October 31, Kejriwal termed RIL's D-6 block in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin deal as a "classic case of crony capitalism" and said both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA) and Congress-led UPA governments were responsible.

Asserting that the government is succumbing to illegitimate demands of Reliance Industries, Kejriwal said that Mukesh Ambani is running the country and not Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

"Who is running the country? It seems that Ambani is running the country," said Kejriwal, pointing out the silence of Dr. Singh.

He demanded that Reliance should be stopped from exploiting national wealth and an end should be put to "crony capitalism".

Kejriwal had earlier targeted Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra"s land deals, the then Law Minister and present External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid of allegedly misusing funds allotted to his NGO and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari in the Maharashtra irrigation scam.