False claims in Reliance's affidavit in Punjab & Haryana HC: Farmers' body

Hours after Reliance approched the Punjab and Haryana HC against the damage to its cellular infrastructure and forcible closure of its stores, a pan-India farmers' body said the affidavit filed by the firm in the court is full of "false" claims.

The All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), representing 250 farmers' organisations in the country, said the affidavit given by Reliance Industries in the court is simply a ploy to serve its business interests.

"The Reliance industry's affidavit is full of false claims of it not entering the crop market and taking over farm land. In Raigarh, Maharashtra, and other places, large tracts of land have been taken over by Reliance and it must return all those before making any false claim," The AIKSCC said in a statement.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's firm's subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) has filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking "the urgent intervention of government authorities to bring a complete stop to the illegal acts of vandalism (of telecom towers) 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.

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."

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited in the petition before the court sought action against miscreants for causing damage to its network infrastructure and forcible closure of its stores in Punjab.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at Delhi borders for over a month against the Centre's three laws.