A day after sending a reassuring email to employees of Reliance Energy, Anil Ambani on Monday sent out a subtle message to employees of flagship Reliance Industries, underscoring his father’s advice to ‘‘watch out for the 3Cs—chamchas, chelas, and cronies.” Peppered with anecdotes and references to Dhirubhai Ambani, Anil’s email— which seeks the employees’ support for his elder brother Mukesh, himself and the entire group—did not touch on the ‘ownership issues’ between the brothers, and only mentioned the he was “personally saddened” at the developments. The message follows Mukesh’s recent email to RIL’s 80,000 employees making it clear that RIL chairman and MD (Mukesh) is the final authority in all matters concerning the group flagship. In the latest round in this barrage of emails, Anil Ambani recalled that in 2002-03, he “had the privilege” of proposing Mukesh Ambani’s name as RIL’s chairman and managing director. “I received his support to be appointed as vice chairman and managing director. At times like the present, it is useful for each one of us to remember the teachings and learnings of.Dhirubhai,” Anil wrote. He added: ‘‘For more than 20 years, Mukesh and I had the unique opportunity to work with Dhirubhai Ambani, and, under his training and leadership, to be co-creators in this glorious task of building RIL into one of the world’s most admired and successful companies. It has been a journey marked by successive milestones of togetherness. We became Executive Directors, Joint Managing Directors and Managing Directors at the same time. I remember, in 1977, on one of the occasions when Mukesh and I were jointly honoured as ‘Businessmen of the Year,’ I said, ‘‘We are not inheritors. We have built this company along with our father.’’ Mukesh concurred, ‘We are his (Dhirubhai Ambani’s) partners. It has almost been like a joint venture’.’’ He also recalled an anecdote where his father Dhirubhai had told him: “You have a choice—you can either demand respect, or command respect. Nothing will please me more if you command respect.” Anil wrote: ‘‘Dhirubhai had little time for niceties. He was always direct and to the point, his messages carried an earthy wisdom. If we tried to spin complex management jargon, he would say, ‘‘Just watch out for the 3Cs—chamchas, chelas, and cronies!’’’ Earlier in the day, the stock markets sprang a surprise with Reliance stocks staging a sharp comeback on overall buying led by FIIs. As the Sensex soared by 123 points to finish at its second-best close of 6157.77 this year, Reliance Energy announced that its board will meet on November 30 to consider the recent resignation of six directors. Overall market sentiment had already lifted Reliance group shares, which bounced back in the second half of the session. Reliance Industries was down by 3.2 per cent at one stage, but rallied back to close with a gain of 1.24 per cent. Reliance Energy which fell by 4.2 per cent initially closed with a gain of 1.13 per cent. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries asserted that there were no violations of laws in giving Mukesh Ambani over-riding powers as chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. “The decision of the board is consistent with the practices in Indian and international companies,’’ a Reliance spokesperson told PTI. (See the full text of mails by Mukesh and Anil Ambani)
