"Does she blackmail the government?": Congress' Pawan Khera accuses govt of protecting SEBI chairman

Congress leader Pawan Khera, while addressing a press conference in the national capital, said, "We have another expose regarding SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch today. Rahul Gandhi, through his videos, is questioning what the compulsions of the government are that it is protecting the SEBI chief. Does she blackmail the government? It is not possible for any democratically elected government to continue protecting a tainted individual, especially when there is a smoking gun, evidence out there in the public domain."

Earlier on Monday, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi uploaded a video on his YouTube channel where party leader Pawan Khera can be seen explaining the allegations against the SEBI chairman.

Earlier on Thursday, October 24, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Madhabi Puri Buch, for skipping a meeting with the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, claiming that someone was behind the plan to protect her from being answerable to the PAC.

"Why is Madhabi Buch reluctant to answer questions before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament? Who is behind the plan to protect her from being answerable to the PAC?" Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

Parliament's PAC on Thursday postponed its meeting after it witnessed a ruckus after SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch did not appear before the committee. SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch was scheduled to appear before the PAC in the national capital on Thursday, as per sources.

KC Venugopal of the Congress, who heads the PAC, told reporters that Madhabi Buch informed him on Thursday morning that she is not in a position to travel to Delhi.

Earlier in September this year, in a joint statement, SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch termed the allegations labelled against them in the recent past as "false, incorrect, malicious and motivated."

Madhabi and Dhaval Buch asserted that their income tax returns have been obtained by the accusers by illegally and by adopting fraudulent means. (ANI)