Mukesh and Deshmukh at the function. (PTI)

Mumbai, Aug. 6: Vilasrao Deshmukh has appeared at a relief function with Mukesh Ambani, days after his government threatened to arrest officials of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Energy for the power failures during the July 26 deluge.

Fresh from a Reliance Industries board meeting that formally approved the de-merger formula between the brothers last evening, Mukesh Ambani announced an individual contribution of Rs 5 crore towards flood relief.

He appealed to the corporate sector to donate towards the government’s relief efforts.

The RIL chairman was soft on the Deshmukh government, accused by the Congress of mishandling the July 26 deluge.

“This is a time to come together and help,” he told the function, which was organised by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent at its south Mumbai office.

The state government had last week sent a showcause notice to Reliance Energy for its inability to restore power in flood-affected Mumbai suburbs. Narayan Rane, the revenue minister, had threatened to arrest company officials if power was not restored in 24 hours.

Told of the threat by reporters at his office, Anil Ambani had shot back: “Arrest me. I’m available here.”

He, however, apologised to Mumbai’s citizens for the inconvenience and promised to restore power overnight. Over 100 Reliance engineers worked through the night and switched on power to 97 rain-affected transformers.

Deshmukh later said Rane had not consulted him before issuing the threat, but it seemed to have worked.

Mumbai status

The BJP has echoed Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s criticism of actor Jaya Bachchan for her support to the demand for Mumbai to be delinked from Maharashtra.

“There is no need for such a thing. I do not agree with the idea,” BJP president L.K. Advani said here after visiting the areas worst hit by the July 26 downpour.

The Congress, too, is against the proposal.

Bachchan had recently told the Rajya Sabha it would be a good idea to turn Mumbai into a self-governed city state with an independent governance structure, manpower and annual budget.

Advani visited Kalina, Sakinaka and Rawalpada in west Mumbai with Pramod Mahajan, Gopinath Munde and state unit chief Nitin Gadkari. He attacked the government over “inadequate relief”.