Mumbai, Oct 11: Anil Ambani today offered to smoke the peace pipe with his brother Mukesh — but the sincerity of the overture was questioned by Reliance Industries which wondered whether he really had a change of heart after an intense, calumnious campaign carried out over several months.

Sunday’s dramatic developments added a new twist to the four-year battle between the siblings with less than 10 days to go before the Supreme Court starts hearing the arguments on a contentious gas supply dispute.

Anil made his offer in an impassioned appeal to Mukesh Ambani to sit across the table and thrash out their differences.

Late tonight, Reliance Industries welcomed the appeal but wondered why the offer of truce was made through a public statement when “he could have easily contacted his elder brother directly”.

In the latest overture, Anil Ambani said: “I sincerely believe that Mukeshbhai and I can, even at this late stage, sort out all our disagreements, in a constructive, cordial and conciliatory manner, if we both commit to getting this done.”

The younger scion said: “I am once again reaching out to Mukeshbhai — and hope and pray that my feelings will be reciprocated, and we will arrive at a solution to all outstanding issues, with a generous heart, a willing mind, and an accommodating spirit.” Anil believed the issues were not so contentious and could be “resolved in a matter of weeks, and will not require several months of discussions”.

Saying that he had the “love, affection and respect for Mukeshbhai”, Anil said a resolution of the dispute between the brothers would be the greatest gift to their mother Kokilaben who had arbitered the settlement between the brothers in June 2005 that led to the eventual carve-up of the empire that Dhirubhai Ambani had built.

Stand questioned

In its response, RIL said the conduct of the Anil Ambani’s camp “so far makes it difficult … to believe that Anil Ambani (has) had a real change of heart. For many years, Anil Ambani had indulged in a malicious campaign against RIL and its chairman (Mukesh)… The campaign reached its nadir in recent months through a vicious series of advertisements unprecedented in India’s corporate history.”

The Mukesh camp hoped that the latest overture was “in no way related to the ongoing hearing of the case in the Supreme Court”.

It said the issues that were raised by the June 15 judgment by Bombay High Court — which had upheld RNRL’s right to the gas at a discounted price — transcended any private differences between the brothers and “can now only be decisively resolved by a decision of the highest court”.

“The dispute…is not merely a family matter, as Anil Ambani’s statement once again tries to make out to be,” the RIL statement said. “Vital national interests in terms of securing government’s revenue from the natural gas that the government owns and the government’s sound policy framework for promoting India’s energy security, are at stake.”

The Mukesh camp said there was no dispute that could not be resolved through dialogue “ provided the proposal for reconciliation is anchored in good and honest intentions”. Hoping that Anil Ambani’s statement would stop the war of words orchestrated by the R-ADAG group in recent weeks, RIL said it would not be found wanting in responding positively to the latest overture.

Divine inspiration

Earlier, in his statement, Anil Ambani said that “many elder statesmen, trusted family members, and long-standing friends… of Dhirubhai Ambani” had talked about the need to break the current impasse and find a solution that would put “an end to this bitterness and rancour”.

Ambani said he had gone on a pilgrimage on Sunday to the holy shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath “in the hope of seeking divine inspiration and blessings …(while) making a renewed effort to resolve, reconcile and reciprocate.”