India's biggest business group became the latest target of the anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, when he accused Reliance Industries of colluding with the federal government to profit from a contract to drill for natural gas.
In recent weeks, the activist and his group, India Against Corruption, have made headline news as they leveled allegations of corruption against several high-profile Indian government officials, including former law minister Salman Khursheed, who is now the foreign minister; Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and Nitin Gadkari, the president of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
On Wednesday, Mr. Kejriwal alleged that in 2000 the B.J.P.-led coalition government Reliance Industries, which is led by Mukesh Ambani, favorable terms to extract gas from the Krishna-Godavari Basin off India's east coast. He also accused the current Congress-led government of r emoving a minister who questioned the contract's term.
Mr. Kejriwal distributed copies of document that he said showed Reliance Industries had initially agreed to produce the gas at the price of $2.34 per million British thermal units (B.T.U.), with a total investment of $2.39 billion. The memo said that under the profit-sharing terms, if Reliance's investment increased, the company's share of gas profits could also increase even if the overall profits fell.
Reliance Industries denied all of Mr. Kejriwal's accusations. “The statements made by I.A.C. in the press conference today are devoid of any truth or substance whatsoever,†the company said in a statement Wednesday evening. “Irresponsible allegations made by I.A.C. at the behest of vested interests without basic understanding of the complexities of a project of this nature do not merit a response,†the statement said.
B. K. Hariprasad, the Congress Party's general secretary, also said the charge s were baseless in an interview with NDTV,. “It has become a fashion for India Against Corruption to level some charges on the government and to remain in media limelight,†he said. “This country is run by 1,200 million people and not by Mukesh Ambani.â€
Reliance Industries' operations in the Krishna-Godavai Basin have been complicated. In 2006, Reliance Industries raised its investment in the basin to $ 8.8 billion, which the government approved. In 2007, the natural gas price was increased to $ 4.2 per million B.T.U. Mr. Kejriwal alleges this was done to further benefit the company.
Earlier this year, Reliance Industries asked to raise the gas price again, to $14.20 per million B.T.U, but that request was rejected by Jaipal Reddy, the petroleum minister. Mr. Reddy was one of several officials who were reshuffled by the central government over the weekend. Mr. Kejriwal attributed that move to Mr. Reddy's refusal to give in to Reliance Industries.
†œThis episode explains the real reasons for the price rise in the country,†said Mr. Kejriwal. “The government seems to be succumbing to illegitimate demands of some powerful corporate in the country.â€
He demanded that Reliance Industries' “blackmailing†should be immediately stopped and that its contract to drill the basin should be canceled.
