Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday said neither the company nor any of its subsidiaries - Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJio) - have any plans to enter the corporate or contract farming business and had not done so in the past.

Moreover, RJio has sought the urgent intervention of the Punjab and Haryana high courts to stop vandalism of its telecom towers in the two states.

“Neither RIL nor any of our subsidiaries has purchased any agricultural land, directly or indirectly, in Punjab or Haryana or anywhere else in India, for the purpose of corporate or contract farming. We have absolutely no plans to do so,” RIL said in a statement.

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RRL, the retail subsidiary of RIL, does not purchase any foodgrains directly from farmers. It has 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, it added.

As customers to India’s kisans, RIL and its affiliates are committed to doing everything to enrich and empower them.

“Indeed, we shall insist that our suppliers strictly abide by the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism, and or any other mechanism for a remunerative price for farm produce, as may be determined and implemented by the government,” it added.

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Talking about the vandalism of its telecom towers, RJio said these acts of violence have endangered the lives of thousands of its employees and caused damage and disruption to the vital communications infrastructure, sales and service outlets run by its subsidiaries in Punjab and Haryana.

“The miscreants indulging in vandalism have been instigated and aided by vested interests and our business rivals. Taking advantage of the ongoing farmers’ agitation near the national capital, these vested interests have launched an incessant, malicious and motivated vilification campaign against Reliance, which has absolutely no basis in truth,” it said.

As of October 31, 2020, RJio has more than 140 lakh subscribers in Punjab (about 36 per cent subscribers in the state) and 94 lakh in Haryana (about 34 per cent).

“Unlike the vested interests, Jio has not resorted to any coercive or unlawful measures to win over customers,” it added.