Birlas come up with another will

KOLKATA: The Birla-Lodha conflict is now pregnant with all ingredients of a blockbuster corporate drama.
The patriarch of the Birla family, B K Birla, is in possession of an old will signed by none other than the late M P Birla and his wife Priyamvada.
The will, sources close to the Birla family said, clearly stated that after the death of MP, all the assets of the MP Birla group would be bequeathed to Priyamvada Birla and after her demise it would be run by "charitable trusts".
The will was probably signed about 15 years ago. M P Birla passed away in 1990.
Though the new will, the bone of contention, supersedes the old one, it does not indicate how both MP Birla and his wife wanted their business empire to continue.
The present will, sources said, completely contradicted the spirit and tenure of the old one and "that is what surprises and intrigues everybody".
"It is really surprising that the new will does not centre round the basic philosophy propagated by MP Birla and his wife," a source said.
On Thursday, the Birla family issued a statement clarifying that "the unanimous view of all the Birla families is that none of the Birla families wants a rupee of the assets of late Priyamvada Birla.
The Birla families know that the late MP Birla had clearly and unequivocally decided to leave his entire estate for charity and this desire was repeated several times by late Priyamvada Birla to the family and family friends".
This ties in neatly with the spirit of the old will.