Weathered Lies, False Allegations Last Year: Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in the country, spoke to shareholders today about the slew of allegations hurled against him by Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party or AAP.

"Last year, we saw several false allegations, outright lies and half-truths against this business. We addressed all of the allegations with truths and facts proactively. We have, with your support, weathered these ill-informed campaigns. We have put on social media platforms the facts for everyone to see. ... Let me thank all the shareholders with the phenomenal response we have got to our messages," Mr Ambani, the top man at Reliance Industries Limited, said at the company's 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Mr Ambani did not refer directly to Mr Kejriwal, who has accused him of colluding with top government officials to get unfair prices for natural gas produced from the Reliance-operated D6 block on the east coast.

Reliance has repeatedly denied Mr Kejriwal's charges.

While he was chief minister of Delhi, Mr Kejriwal, 45, ordered an investigation into the gas pricing, alleging that Reliance had created an artificial shortage to "blackmail" the government to set higher prices.

"The complaint and each of the allegations on the basis of which the Delhi Government has taken such action are completely baseless and devoid of any merit or substance whatsoever," Reliance had said in a statement.

The D6 block was expected to contribute up to 25 per cent of gas for Asia's third-largest economy but its lower-than-expected output has left the energy-hungry nation more dependent on expensive, imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel power and fertiliser plants.

Reliance has long maintained geological complexities at the D-6 block have pushed production lower. The country's upstream regulator believes the company failed to drill the number of wells approved in the development plan.

(With inputs from Reuters)