Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra has taken shot at Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, accusing Reliance-affiliated media organisations of promoting what he called “wrong propaganda” against him and his group, while also recalling the unpleasant corporate dispute over Zee Entertainment.Reliance Group said in a statement that it was disappointed by Chandra’s remarks and called the accusations “baseless”, saying it holds him “in high regard as a businessman and entrepreneur”.Meanwhile, Chandra questioned the coverage of Ambani’s personal bankruptcy proceedings in a video message. He also mentioned Reliance’s interest in Zee and the previous Zee-Invesco case, claiming he was forced to explore the Sony-Zee merger at that point in time.“Mukesh ji, please stop the wrong propaganda against me personally and my group. Zee is a group company. I don’t own anything in that. I don’t own anything now after implementing this NCLT order. You are the son of Dhirubhai Ambani. I have learnt a lot from him. I think you have not learnt anything from him,” Chandra said.Additionally, Chandra pointed to news of his personal insolvency case, in which the National Company Law Tribunal’s authorised repayment plan entails approximately Rs 6.5 crore, while admitted claims against him total almost Rs 22,006 crore.He contended that the claims stemmed from personal guaranties he had provided for loans raised by Essel Group entities, while the Rs 22,006 crore number was being presented as money he had personally borrowed.Chandra also questioned how Reliance-affiliated media channels, especially TV18 and CJattvibe-TV18, covered the story. He claimed that headlines made it seem as though he had taken out a personal loan of Rs 22,000 crore, which he later settled for Rs 6.5 crore.There is no independent evidence to support such claim.Allegations made by Chandra against AmbaniThe insolvency case was only one aspect of Chandra’s video. In his view, he connected the coverage to the previous conflict between Zee Entertainment and Reliance’s talks with Invesco.In 2021, Invesco, a significant shareholder in Zee at the time, requested reforms at the corporation. The incident became a part of a bigger corporate conflict between Reliance, Invesco and Zee.Chandra claimed that through the Invesco incident, Reliance had attempted to obtain or seize control of Zee. He contended that the proposition was not in the best interests of Zee’s minority owners and questioned the way it was being pursued.Reliance had previously disclosed talks regarding a potential merger between Zee and its media businesses. These conversations did not lead to a deal.Reliance disapproves claimReliance has outrighly refuted Chandra’s accusations against its media entities.In a statement, Reliance said, “We strongly deny the allegations and insinuations against the media entities that are a part of the Reliance Group. Our media brands have never been used to attack anyone, nor will they ever be. We hold Shri Subhash Chandra in high regard as a businessman and entrepreneur. We wish him well,”As a result, Reliance has refuted the main accusation that Chandra or his group were targeted by its media companies.