From Dhirubhai to Gautambhai

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Long before Gautam Adani, there was Dhirubhai Ambani. The Reliance Industries founder was targeted for building his business empire courtesy his alleged proximity to the Congress government in the 1980s. Leading the anti-Reliance charge was former prime minister VP Singh who didn’t hide his disdain for big business. In 1990, in the midst of this high stakes Singh versus Ambani battle, south Mumbai Congress MP, Murli Deora organized a private dinner for Dhirubhai with a few journalists and Mumbai’s movers and shakers. “I don’t know what my party will say but I will stand by my friend Dhirubhai through good times and bad,” he told the elite gathering. Deora and Ambani had worked in the yarn trading business together and their friendship was built around a long-standing mutual trust.