Parting shot: Raha hit out at detractors

Alleging "animus" by the oil ministry against him for resisting "illegal and prejudiced" orders of former secretary SC Tripathi, Subir Raha had appealed to Petroleum Minister Murli Deora for a fair and just appraisal of ONGC and its chairman and managing director.

In a strong letter listing several "illegal and biased orders" by Tripathi, who retired on December 31, 2005, Raha wrote to Deora a day before his term as ONGC's chief came to an end, saying "animus against chairman and managing director of ONGC is inevitable.

"Ergo, in the interest of fair play and justice, any assessment of ONGC or any appraisal of ONGC CMD by them (ministry) needs to be seen as prejudiced and personalised," Raha said. The letter also talked about intimidation and his removal as CMD.

The ministry had last week decided not to extend Raha's tenure as chief of ONGC amid reports that previous oil minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and Tripathi had given adverse performance reports. Tripathi could not be contacted for comments. Raha, who is under treatment for jaundice, did not take any calls.

To buttress his argument, Raha, in his letter dated May 23, said "In each and every case, these decisions were thwarted because the principle objections raised by CMD, ONGC were upheld by the government. All these cases are documented."

Raha also sent a copy of the letter to the cabinet secretary, but it was not clear as to what action government has taken on this.

In a separate 15-page letter sent out on the same day, Raha heaped criticism on ONGC's performance detailing how output decline in almost all the ageing fields had been arrested and fields like Mehsana and Ahmedabad were producing at an all-time high.

In the first letter Raha, besides the orders relating to ONGC, also listed out directions in connection with the group's listed company MRPL, its overseas subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd and its joint venture Petronet LNG, saying many of these were contrary to the decisions of the Union Cabinet.