Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) will file a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking the intervention of the government to stop vandalism of its communication infrastructure by miscreants, the company said on January 4.
In a media statement, the company said the “acts of violence have endangered the lives of thousands of its employees and caused damage and disruption to the vital communications infrastructure” and service outlets run by its subsidiaries in the states of Haryana and Punjab.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of around 1,500 mobile towers and telecom gear owned by Jio being vandalised in Punjab, allegedly by farmers protesting against the new farm reform laws that seek to liberalise the market for agricultural produce and commodities.
In November, some groups of farmers had shut down Reliance Fresh stores in parts of Punjab. Some farmers fear that the new laws will pave the way for corporate exploitation and their land could be "snatched" by big firms.
RIL said those involved in vandalism were “instigated and aided” by vested interests and business rivals.
The conglomerate alleged that these “vested interests” had launched an incessant, malicious and motivated vilification campaign against Reliance by taking advantage of the ongoing farmers’ protests along Delhi’s borders.
The company said it would seek punitive and deterrent action against those involved, so that it can run all its businesses smoothly in the two states.
“The falsehood of the campaign becomes crystal clear from the following irrefutable facts, which we have placed before the Honourable High Court. These facts establish that Reliance has nothing whatsoever to do with the three farm laws currently debated in the country, and in no way benefits from them,” Reliance said in the statement.
“The sole nefarious purpose of linking the name of Reliance to these laws is to harm our businesses and damage our reputation,” the company added.
Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, have been staging a sit-in along Delhi's borders since November 26. The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the three farm laws and a guarantee that the MSP system will not be done away with.
Follow LIVE updates of the farmers' protest here
Multiple rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmers’ union leaders have ended in a stalemate. Protesting farmers fear that the new agricultural reform laws will dismantle the MSP system and corporatise farming. However, the Centre has maintained that these reforms will benefit farmers.
In the statement, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) also said that it has no plans to enter contract or corporate farming and it is committed to empowering farmers. The conglomerate said that it had never bought agricultural land for corporate or contract farming and had no plans to do so either.
RIL said that its subsidiary Reliance Retail does not purchase food grains directly from farmers. "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," Reliance said.
Seeking to address farmers' concerns, the company said it had "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".
Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Moneycontrol.