Former chairman-emeritus of the Raymond Group Vijaypat Singhania.
Credit: PTI Photo
Adding to the turmoil in Raymond family, Vijaypat Singhania, the founder of Raymond Group and father of current Chairman Gautam Singhania, spoke about his son's alleged actions post his separation with ex-wife Nawaz Modi who has accused Gautam of physical assault.
In an interview with Business Today, the 85-year-old businessman expressed regret over giving "everything" to Gautam, who he referred to as "an arrogant man", and called it as a "stupid mistake".
He alleged that Gautam had reneged on his promise to give him some parts of the company, leaving him with nothing but a small amount of money to survive on. Vijaypat Singhania also lamented that his son was "breaking up" Raymond.
On meeting his son, he said, "I'd be open to meeting him. My second answer is that meeting him has no meaning because he won't listen to me. And if I say something which he doesn't like, he may scream at me, he may abuse me. He does all these kinds of things. So, I would probably try to keep away as much as I can."
The senior Singhania expressed support for his daughter-in-law, stating that she is entitled to 50 per cent of Gautam's holdings under the Hindu Marriage Act. However, he believed that Gautam would never agree to give her 75 per cent of his wealth, as his son's motto is to "buy everybody and buy everything."
"Why is she fighting for 75%? Gautam is never going to give in, because his motto is - buy everybody and buy everything. That's what he did with me. I didn't have that kind of money left to fight him. He bought everything. He'll buy everything. By fighting like this, I don't think she'll get much. Unless she has, maybe, a person like Harish Salve, Mukul Rohatgi, Kapil Sibal."
Assault Charges
Gautam Singhania has recently been facing personal and professional challenges.
The series of events began when a video of Nawaz Modi, a professional fitness coach, being denied entry to a Raymond Diwali party went viral. This video gained traction on social media, leading to the billionaire announcing his separation from his wife of more than twenty years.
The 53-year-old fitness center owner in south Mumbai shared details about her troubled relationship, accusing her husband of domestic violence. Modi recounted an incident on September 9 where she alleged that the Raymond boss physically assaulted her and one of their underage daughters.
She mentioned being hospitalised and subsequently left their home with her two children to live with her parents.
Estranged father-son relationship
This is not the first time that the father-son relationship has been strained. In 2017, Vijaypat Singhania accused Gautam of not fulfilling his promise to provide him with a duplex in the JK House building in Mumbai.