Facing the brunt of farmer’s ire over perception of it being a beneficiary of new farm laws, Reliance Industries on Monday filed a petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court saying that it has no relation with the three farm laws and in no way benefits from them. It further said that any of its subsidiary has never been engaged in any corporate” or “contract” farming in the past nor to plans to do so in the future.
In a statement, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s firm said its subsidiary “Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), in a petition mentioned to be filed in Honourable Punjab and Haryana High Court today, has sought the urgent intervention of Government authorities to bring a complete stop to the illegal acts of vandalism by miscreants.”
Reliance said it “has nothing whatsoever to do with the three farm laws currently debated in the country, and in no way benefits from them.”
“As such, the sole nefarious purpose of linking the name of Reliance to these laws is to harm our businesses and damage our reputation,” it said.
The company said it does not do “corporate or contract farming” and has not bought “any agricultural land, directly or indirectly, in Punjab/Haryana or anywhere else in India, for the purpose of corporate or contract farming.”
Its retail unit which sells food grains and staples, fruits and vegetables and items of daily use through its stores, “does not purchase any food grains directly from farmers,” the statement said.
“It has never entered into long-term procurement contracts to gain 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.
It further said that Reliance and its affiliates fully share and support the aspiration of Indian farmers to get a fair and profitable price on a predictable basis for what they produce with exemplary hard work, innovation and dedication.
“Indeed, we shall insist on our suppliers to strictly abide by the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism, and/or any other mechanism for remunerative price for farm produce, as may be determined and implemented by the government.”