New Delhi, Sep 5 (Agency) The Congress party on Thursday unleashed fresh attack on SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch demanding a thorough probe into the allegations of ‘conflict of interest’ against her and questioned as to why Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not yet swung into action in this matter. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Praveen Chakravarty, Chairman – Professionals’ Congress & Data Analytics, Indian National Congress said, “SEBI is one of the nation’s most important institutions and lots of skeletons are tumbling out of its closet. When we talk about the 1991 liberalization under Dr Manmohan Singh, one of the important setups was SEBI”. He said, “An American research firm in August made serious charges against the SEBI chief alleging that ‘SEBI’s unwillingness to take meaningful action against suspect shareholders in the Adani Group stemmed from Buch’s complicity in using the exact same funds used by Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani.” Praveen said that the Congress party, along with several other voices including journalists and other professionals, demanded the SEBI chairperson to step aside while urging an immediate impartial enquiry into the matter.
He alleged that when the allegations were against an individual and her family, the Cabinet Ministers and BJP MPs came to the rescue of Buch. The Congress leader said, “Today, a news report says that Madhabi Puri Buch did have two employments when she was at ICICI. She was also employed in a private equity fund called Greater Specific Capital. When I searched more about Greater Specific Capital, one of the key members of the leadership was Shaurya Doval, the son of Ajit Doval. Madhabi Buch may have been recruited as a finance professional, but this raises a long list of allegations and questions. Doesn’t it raise more concern?” Praveen said that when new revelations are being made every day then why is the government hesitating to investigate the matter? He said that the Congress party wants a very strong, robust stock market in the country. Adding that, “We want foreign capital in our stock market. This is too important for the country; it is a national issue.” “The real question is: Who is being protected here? Why is the ED silent on Madhabi Puri Buch?” he asked.