Amazon declined to comment on Mr Biyani s remarks. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the market regulator that has been reviewing the deal for months, did not respond to a request for comment.
SEBI and India s stock exchanges could still reject or take more time to approve the deal, which is critical for the survival of Future Retail, whose more than 1,700 outlets were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Future Retail has warned that failure to close the deal could lead to the company s liquidation and job losses for more than 29,000 employees.