New Delhi: Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited Mukesh Ambani met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday.
The meetings assume significance as they come soon after Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar singh called for Prime Minister's intervention in the corporate battle between the Ambani brothers.
Amar Singh is considered close to Mukesh's younger brother Anil and has reportedly asked for a windfall profit tax (WPT) on exports of petroleum companies, which are bound to hurt the elder Ambani.
WPT is a tax on profits that ensue from a sudden windfall gain to a particular company or industry, especially in the case of private petroleum firms engaged in refining crude oil.
Mukesh also met Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and some other senior officials including Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had refused to attach any political significance to the meetings in the light of the July 22 Vote of Confidence in the Lok Sabha.
All India Congress Committee spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi stated that his party could not stop any party or business house from raising their demands.
"The demand for windfall tax is not new. It was raised by the Left parties many months ago," Shinghvi said.
Singhvi also added that the dispute between the two brothers predates and pre-exists for a long time. "To link it with the present situation is wrong," he said.
The government should be judged only from the fact whether its actions were in the best national interest and in compliance with the rule of law, Singhvi argued.
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