Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday said it is not in the business of corporate or contract farming and blamed “vested interests” behind vandalisation of the firm’s telecom towers in Punjab.The company also filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking the help of authorities to stop attacks on its telecom towers by farmers protesting against the three new farm laws on the belief that they favour big corporates.
First in a statement and later in a petition before the High Court, the company said it has “nothing whatsoever to do with the three farm laws currently debated in the country, and in no way benefits from them”.None of the group companies has done any corporate or contract farming in the past and has “absolutely no plans to enter this business”, the firm said, adding it has not purchased any agricultural land, directly or indirectly, in Punjab and Haryana or anywhere else in the country.
While its retail units selling daily essentials to electronic products, “it does not purchase any food grains directly from farmers,” the statement said.”
It has never entered into long-term procurement contracts to gain an unfair advantage over farmers or sought that its suppliers buy from farmers at less than remunerative prices, nor will it ever do so,” it added. The company blamed “vested interests” and “business rivals” behind vandalisation of nearly a fifth of its 9,000 telecom towers in Punjab.”The miscreants indulging in vandalism have been instigated and aided by vested interests and our business rivals,” Reliance said.