SEBI row: Congress threatens nationwide stir if JPC demand not met

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stepping up its attack on the PM Narendra Modi government over the Hindenburg Research's allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Congress on Monday threatened to launch a nationwide protest if its demand for a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) probe into the matter is not accepted.

AICC general secretary (Organisation), K C Venugopal, described the allegations as "very serious" and accused the Prime Minister of supporting Adani on the matter.

"The Prime Minister's silence on the matter amounts to a destruction of credibility," Venugopal told reporters at the airport here.

He accused the union government of trying to divert people's attention from the matter by using the Enforcement Directorate against Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

"Don't try to threaten Rahul Gandhi with an ED notice. We will strongly oppose such diversionary tactics," the Alappuzha MP said.

Venugopal said that "this is the most serious issue in the country" and warned that if their demand for a JPC probe is not accepted, they will go ahead with a strong protest.

Hindenburg had on Saturday alleged that SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani - the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani - to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.

In response, Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch in a joint statement on Sunday said the investments were made in 2015, well before her appointment as a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 and the subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022, and in capacity as "private citizens living in Singapore". These funds became "dormant" on her appointment in SEBI.