00:00It's a battle for control of the Tata group that's built into the political arena now.
00:06Well, Rahul Gandhi comes out to accuse the Modi government of destroying Tata
00:10with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman hitting back at the Congress leader.
00:14Shahrat Pawar has backed Noel Tata in a boardroom battle over N. Chandrasekharan's reappointment,
00:22threatening to move to the courts.
00:23So what began as a corporate power struggle initially
00:26is now turning into a full-blown political face-off.
00:30Let's take a look at this report to understand in greater details.
00:38The battle for control of Tata group is now a political flashpoint.
00:43Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday
00:46faded into the controversy with a social media post.
00:50He said Tata is being criminally destroyed
00:53and no business leader dares say a word.
00:56How long will you stay silent until they own you?
00:59Indian business is not Modi and Shah's plaything.
01:03You lack courage.
01:04We don't.
01:05We will ensure justice for these crimes.
01:08Rahul Gandhi is the second opposition leader
01:11to comment on the corporate war that has left India in Shekhar.
01:17Earlier, Sharad Pawar had come out in support of Noel Tata
01:20and called for protection of charitable ownership of Tata group.
01:24If Rahul Gandhi writes anything, if it is written behind him,
01:28it is written behind him.
01:29Tata is the second name of Bharose.
01:32And those who are helping, they have the second name of Dhoke.
01:36So Bharose and Dhoke have to decide both of them.
01:39Finance Minister Nirmala Sita Raman has hit back at Rahul Gandhi.
01:43In a response posted on social media,
01:46the Finance Minister asked the Leader of Opposition
01:48to refrain from politicising every issue.
01:51Sita Raman added that casually labelling
01:53commercial and legal matters as criminal is unacceptable.
01:58She wondered if Rahul Gandhi was trying to incite
02:01business leaders to join him in spreading distrust and toxicity.
02:06Sita Raman claimed the Congress governments smothered
02:09Indian entrepreneurs for decades under licence Kota Raj
02:13and inflicted poverty on crores of Indians.
02:17She said Modi government values the Indian industry
02:20as job creators and drivers of economic growth.
02:24In his counter, Rahul Gandhi posed two questions
02:28to the Finance Minister.
02:29Which legal and commercial matter required Tata Trust
02:32and Tata Sons to be hosted at Amit Shah's residence?
02:35When is crony number one going to appear in the game?
02:39And which pieces of Tata is he going to get?
02:43The political face-off comes a day after Tata Trust's chairman
02:47Noel Tata challenged the resolution to reappoint
02:50N. Chandrasekharan as Tata Sons' chairman for five years.
02:54He questioned the validity of the decision
02:57taken at the company's September 17 board meeting.
03:00In a letter to Tata Sons' company secretary on Monday,
03:04Noel Tata cited procedural irregularities
03:06in how the resolution was brought before the board.
03:10Noel claimed that Chandrasekharan's reappointment
03:12was not in the original agenda for the board meeting
03:15and the reappointment proposal was taken up out of turn.
03:20Noel Tata, who heads Tata Trusts,
03:23which owns around two-thirds of Tata Sons,
03:25had opposed Chandrasekharan's reappointment
03:28during the board meeting.
03:30The fight between Tata Sons' chairman N. Chandrasekharan
03:33and Tata Trust trustee Venu Srinivasan on one side
03:37and Noel Tata on the other is nowhere near an end.
03:40The battle for control of India's second-largest business group
03:44looks set to move from the boardroom to courts now.
03:48Bureau Report, India Today.
