Allegations raised by the US Short seller Hindenburg in its research report against the Adani Group has drawn sharp criticisms from the INDIA bloc.
The Congress has said the “seeming complicity of the highest officials of the land” can only be resolved by setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the full scope of the “scam”.
In a statement on the development, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that the Sebi’s "strange reluctance to investigate the Adani mega scam” has been long noted, not least by the Supreme Court’s Expert Committee, reported the media.
“This had tied its hands to the extent that the securities market regulator suspects wrongdoing, but also finds compliance with various stipulations in attendant regulations... It is this dichotomy that has led to SEBI drawing a blank worldwide’,” Ramesh said quoting the Expert Committee.
The politician added, “Under public pressure, after the Adani horse had bolted, SEBI's board reintroduced stricter reporting rules on 28 June 2023. It told the Expert Committee on 25 August 2023 that it was investigating 13 suspicious transactions. Yet the investigations never bore fruit.”
In another post on X, Ramesh said the “Parliament was notified to sit till the evening of August 12th. Suddenly it got adjourned sine die on the afternoon of Aug 9th itself. Now we know why,” he wrote.
In a post on X, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “SEBI had previously cleared Adani, a close associate of PM Modi, before the Supreme Court following the January 2023 Hindenburg Report revelations. However, new allegations have surfaced regarding a quid-pro-quo involving the SEBI chief.”
The small and medium investors belonging to the middle class who invest their hard-earned money in the stock market need to be protected, as they believe in the SEBI, he said.
Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor demanded a probe into the latest allegation of Hindenburg Research against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, too, said it was now clear why Sebi did not answer her letters seeking details of Adani group companies.
After the new broadside by Hindenburg against Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Buch, Chaturvedi had sought details of the probe against Adani group of companies in April last year.
"Now we know why our letters went unanswered and unacknowledged,” she said in her reaction.
Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey said the Hindenburg Research’s report suggests involvement of Sebi chief in the matter.
"Now the question is who will investigate the matter. The way the Parliament session was concluded...there is a sense that something is wrong,” Dubey said.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari lashed out at the Modi government and said that the tenure of PM Modi will be known for ‘Adani-waad’.
Taking it to a social media post on X, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh wrote, “The Hindenburg revelations were hinted at 3 days before Modi ended the Parliament session. Modi Government is steeped in corruption from head to toe. To save his friend Adani, Modi Ji got the investigation done by the same SEBI Chairman who had committed the scam in connivance with Adani. SC should reconsider its decision.”
Alleging a conflation in ‘money siphoning scandal’ AAP Spokesperson Reena Gupta said, “(Delhi CM) Arvind Kejriwal has always said that people sitting in high positions are together, and therefore there is corruption in the country. This Hindenburg report has revealed that SEBI is also involved in this Adani scam.”
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