Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Puri Buch will not be attending the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Thursday, owing to some ’emergency work’.
The parliamentary committee was scheduled to review the performance of regulatory bodies established by Parliament. Representatives from the finance ministry and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) were invited to provide oral evidence.
The panel chairperson said that the meeting has been postponed due to Buch’s unavailability, following which PAC member and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused chairman Venugopal of taking suo motu decisions.
He also said that several PAC members, including those from the BJP and its alliance partners, are approaching LS Speaker Om Birla against Venugopal’s conduct.
The PAC is also examining matters related to the Department of Telecommunications and that meeting will go ahead as scheduled during the post-lunch session.
The inclusion of SEBI’s performance review in the agenda was not contested. However, summoning SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has caused tension among ruling party members. Buch has been involved in a political controversy following allegations of conflict of interest by US firm Hindenburg Research.
The Congress party slammed the Centre on these allegations, calling for Buch’s removal and criticizing the government. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused the committee’s head, senior Congress leader K C Venugopal, of attempting to defame the government and harm the economy. Dubey called the conduct “unconstitutional and disdainful,” and claimed political motivations were at play.
Dubey stated, “This time also, unverified allegations have been levelled against the SEBI Chief by a foreign entity viz., Hindenburg Research, which is notorious for targeting business houses, important functionaries, and financial institutions of the country.” He requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to restrain Venugopal.
The Congress leader did not respond to Dubey’s accusations.
With a majority of BJP and allied MPs in the committee, opposition efforts to discuss matters outside the committee’s scope will likely meet strong resistance.
(With PTI inputs)