Kolkata: Tuesday''s board meeting of Birla Corporation Ltd, the flagship of the M.P. Birla Group, passed off smoothly and in a cordial atmosphere. The meeting was chaired by R.S. Lodha, co-chairman of the company.

According to a director who was present at the meeting, a two-minute silence was observed in memory of the former chairman, the late Priyamvada Birla.

The director clarified that no representative of the financial institutions present at the meeting opposed Lodha''s chairmanship. Nandini Nopany, daughter of K.K. Birla, one of the Birla family member to opposed Lodha''s claim of inheritance, was also present at the meeting as a director.

All the nine members of the board were present at the meeting. The meeting began after 11 in the morning and was over within an hour.

When asked whether all board members supported Lodha''s chairmanship, he said: "I will not go into further details. Please try to read between the lines."

While leaving the meeting, Lodha too confirmed the fact that he chaired the meeting.

When asked whether he was happy with the fact that the meeting passed off as it should have, he said: "It is good for Birla Corporation. Whatever has happened is good for the company."
Several questions were put to Lodha by the media, but the latter only muttered "I have no comment to make".

Meanwhile, the director concerned said that the board members preferred not to mix up the issue of Lodha''s claim with the functioning of the Birla Corporation. "This was just a meeting on Birla Corporation and had nothing to do with Priyamvada Birla''s will. So that subject was not discussed at all," he added.