The Politics Of A Separation

Does the festering fraternal war have a political subtext? Has Anil become a political liability for elder brother Mukesh? Is his close link with the Samajwadi Party the reason for the loss of political clout for the entire group? Is there a link between the SP plot to destabilise the government in July-August, reported to the Congress by the IB, and the sudden decline of the Reliance clout in the corridors of power?

Many in the telecom industry see a link between the tough, proactive role of the department of telecommunication (DOT) in acting against Reliance Infocomm and Anil Ambani’s closeness to Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Amitabh Bachchan. Both are disliked by Sonia and this led to the buzz in the bureaucracy that Reliance can be taken on. Those close to Anil Ambani admit that this perception has indeed been gaining ground.

When the UPA government was being formed, there was an attempt by Anil Ambani to get the SP into the central government. "The idea was to corner key portfolios and put pressure on Mukesh," says a Congress leader. When this attempt failed, the SP-Anil camp had to lie low for a while. There was to be a second attempt in July-August. This time reportedly for an alternative government with the help of non-BJP members of the NDA with outside support of the BJP. The plan did not even take off but the IB alerts on the various meetings pointed to the younger Ambani backing the move.

Ironically, it was in August that DOT began a probe into complaints of international calls being passed on to Indian customers as local calls by Reliance Infocomm. The company had weathered many a storm earlier but this time there seemed to be no respite. The bsnl chairman reportedly refused to take Mukesh’s calls and a telecom PSU chief wrote a signed article in an economic daily attacking Reliance. "This was unthinkable a few months ago. The Ambanis were known to influence appointments of top bureaucrats and ministers. Clearly, something was wrong," says a Congress leader.

In the incoming international calls scam, Reliance had routed incoming calls to its three International Long Distance (ILD) landing facilities in Chennai, Mumbai and Calcutta instead of passing it on to subscribers through the official ILD trunk route. Once the calls were diverted, the caller identification presentations changed and the calls were re-originated from Reliance facilities. Reliance used 30,000 dummy numbers in Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai for the operation. For every international call ending in an Indian landline or a mobile phone, Rs 4.25 had to be paid to the landline operator, in most cases Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd or Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd. Reliance had evaded payment to the tune of about Rs 500 crore.

Forget the evasion, the IB also wrote to the telecom department about the security threat. Its view was that a threat call from Dubai or elsewhere to, say, a Calcutta businessman would appear like a local call or an std, thus making it difficult for security agencies to trace it. Sources add, such an adverse report wouldn’t have been forwarded if the Ambanis still had their earlier clout.

After Mukesh distanced himself from his brother publicly, DOT became ‘reasonable’. Call it a coincidence but on November 19, a day after Mukesh’s now-famous interview to CNBC-TV18, Union communications minister Dayanidhi Maran settled the Reliance Infocomm scam by slapping a minor penalty instead of revoking its licence. Notices for a penalty of Rs 150 crore were formally sent on November 24. Was it a sign that the "break-up" was actually working in favour of Mukesh?

Critics of Reliance say that the very fact that the Infocomm scam was investigated is an example of Reliance losing its status of being "a state within the state", as CPI(M) leader Dipankar Mukherjee refers to the company. Now, many Congressmen raise questions as to why Reliance strikes oil every time it digs while ongc, which had mapped the whole territory, did not. The petroleum ministry has also of late raised questions about Reliance raking in ‘undue’ profits.

But why did Anil Ambani choose the Samajwadi Party to launch his political career? Many politicians feel he should’ve chosen either the Congress or the BJP. One Anil aide’s take on this is: "In the SP, he would be given the pride of place. In the Congress, he would have had to stand with folded hands outside Sonia Gandhi’s house."

So, which way is the political wind blowing for ril now? One does not have to reiterate the Ambani clout during Dhirubhai’s time. Perhaps Mukesh, who has been trying to rebuild bridges with various Congressmen, may find his task that much easier now that he has made it clear that he is his own man and does not approve of the political company that his brother keeps.