Nusli Wadia hits back at Tatas in letter to shareholders

Just days before Tata Steel Board convenes an extraordinary general meeting on December 21 for the removal of Nusli Wadia as independent director of the company, Wadia has written a letter to Tata Steel shareholders saying the allegations levelled against him are false and baseless.Nusli Wadia, who is an independent director on three Tata Group companies, writes in his letter that he does not work for Tata Group in any capacity and he is not required to work in its interest.He also explains in the letter how he has fulfilled his role as an independent Director. In some instances, he has even disagreed with Ratan Tata, he writes. One such instance, his appeal to the Board of Tata Steel that the company focus on growing the India market rather than give continuous financial resources towards European operations.Rakesh Arora, an Independent Anayst says the stock of Tata Steel is going to take a hit when market opens tomorrow. Wadia has an opportunity to defend himself and put out his views to the shareholders. It's up to the shareholders to believe if what he has written is true or not, says Shriram Subramanian of InGovern.After Wadia's mail, Tata Group will have to answer why it wants to remove only one person from the Board if performance is in question, says Subramanian.Amit Tandon, Managing Director, IiAS is also puzzled with the group's move to remove only Nusli Wadia when other independent directors in other companies like Indian Hotels continue to show support for Cyrus Mistry.Arora says such allegations do arise and they have to be taken with a pinch of salt. He adds that Wadia's allegations are as old as early 2015. The biggest question that Sebi could ask Wadia is why complaints have been raised now in 2016 if he is an independent director.Watch video for more.