Arvind Kejriwal targets RIL's Mukesh Ambani, orders FIR on gas pricing

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered the anti-corruption arm of the Delhi government to register first information reports (FIR) against Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) chairman Mukesh Ambani, Union oil and natural gas minister M. Veerappa Moily and former minister Murli Deora, among others.

Kejriwal accused RIL of conspiring with some members of the government to create an artificial shortage of gas in the country and raise prices of gas produced in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

Moily rejected Kejriwal’s allegations, saying price fixing of petroleum products is done as per expert advice.

“We deny these irresponsible allegations,” an RIL spokesperson said.

“Delhi government has asked anti-corruption department to register cases against Murli Deora, M. Veerappa Moily, Mukesh Ambani and others on gas-pricing issue. Case will also be registered against Reliance Industries, and former DG (director general), hydrocarbons, V.K. Sibal,” Kejriwal said on Tuesday.

RIL had initially agreed to supply gas to state-owned utility NTPC Ltd at about $2.3 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for about 17 years, Kejriwal said.

But the price of gas from the D6 block of the Krishna-Godavari basin was fixed at $4.2 per mmBtu when Deora was oil minister.

Last year, after Moily took over as oil minister, the government agreed to link prices with global indexes, which could double the local gas prices from 1 April this year.

Kejriwal said he would ask the government to suspend the latest order on gas pricing pending an inquiry.

Kejriwal, whose party came to power in Delhi in December, caught public attention with an anti-corruption plank—first with a nationwide anti-graft agitation with veteran activist Anna Hazare and later with his newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

This is not the first time that Kejriwal has targeted RIL and Ambani. In November 2012, Kejriwal alleged that RIL had used its influence to strike favourable terms for itself in its block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast. In the same month, Kejriwal, who was then working under the banner of India Against Corruption, alleged that Ambani had ₹ 100 crore stashed in bank accounts in Geneva. RIL categorically denied both the allegations.

On Tuesday’s allegations, Moily said: “I think I should sympathize with his ignorance. He should know how the government functions, how these things are done... I took special interest to ensure that the CNG (compressed natural gas) and PNG (piped natural gas) prices are reduced. You should know that.”

The ruling Congress party said it was open to any fair investigation.

“Congress party is not against any investigation. We are in favour of any kind of investigation by any minister or any person who has the powers,” Congress general secretary Ajay Maken told reporters at a party briefing. “This is the reason why the Congress brought the Right to Information and the Lokpal and the Lokayukta Bill... However, we want to add that no investigation should be political and politics should not be a reason behind it. One has to also see that any investigation should be in the realm of law of Constitution,” he said.

Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta, who has often raised the issue of gas pricing in Parliament, hailed Kejriwal’s move on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the AAP government in Delhi found itself with a wafer thin margin in the assembly with independent legislator Rambeer Shokeen officially withdrawing his support to the government on Tuesday. The party now has 27 legislators and 8 Congress legislators giving it outside support in a 70-member assembly.

Reuters and PTIcontributed to this story.