Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch will appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.
The meeting comes after a Bharatiya Janata Party member accused the panel’s chairman and Congress MP KC Venugopal of guiding their actions by political motivations.
The agenda for Thursday’s meeting includes oral evidence from representatives of the Finance Ministry and Sebi since part of the committee’s decision was to go for the “performance review of regulatory bodies established by Act of Parliament”.
Additionally, oral evidence from representatives of the Communications Ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will be taken, the PTI report said.
The committee’s decision to include the performance review of regulatory bodies established by the Act of Parliament was approved by all. However, Venugopal’s request to call Buch raised questions among BJP members, as she has been at the centre of a political row after Hindenburg’s allegations against her.
Following the Hindenburg allegation of conflict of interest against Buch, the Congress sought her removal and attacked the BJP-led government.
Dubey slams Venugopal’s ‘disdainful’ conduct
Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP and a member of the panel, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing Venugopal of bringing up non-existent issues to defame the central government and destabilise the country’s financial structure and economy, the report added.
He also termed Venugopal’s conduct “unconstitutional and disdainful”, led by political motivations as the Congress was “compelled” by voters to sit in the opposition benches after the Lok Sabha elections.
However, the senior Congress leader has not yet reacted to the charges.
Dubey also questioned Hindenburg’s unverified claims.
“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,” the report said quoting Dubey.
Presently, the BJP has the majority in the Public Accounts Committee, and it is likely that any move by the Opposition will be opposed.
According to Dubey, the only function of the Committee is to scrutinise the appropriation accounts of the Government of India and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
