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Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily has told the Supreme Court that he has not done any favour to Reliance Industries Ltd and allegations leveled against him by CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta are baseless and politically motivated.
"The allegation that the present Minister was inducted to do Reliance’s bidding is absolutely baseless without any substance and as a matter of fact defamatory. This baseless allegation not only defames him but also the entire process of Cabinet formation and allocation of portfolios," he said in his affidavit.
"Apart from this it is submitted that he has not done any favour to Reliance Industries Ltd or that no orders have been passed junking arbitration as alleged by the petitioner," he said.
He was responding to the allegation levelled by Dasgupta and an NGO Common Cause that Moily was trying to favour RIL on the KG basin dispute.
He filed the affidavit complying with the order of apex court which had issued notice to him also in addition to Centre and other parties.
"At the outset, I vehemently deny the allegations made against me and respectfully submit that the said allegations apart from being blatantly false, baseless and reckless, are politically motivated and have been with malafide intentions," he said.
"It is submitted that petitioners have arrayed this Respondent as a party in the present proceedings only to sensationalise the issue and to draw political mileage. As such the arraying of him as a party is entirely mischievous and misconceived and an attempt to derive political mileage and sensationalise the matter," the affidavit said.
Moily submitted that he was made party in the PILs only for political reasons and pleaded the court to delete his name.
"I am filing this short affidavit limited to the aspect of controverting the allegations made against me and to request and pray to this Court to delete my name from the array of parties as I am neither necessary nor proper party in the petition," he said.