The Congress party criticised the responses provided by Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband, suggesting that their answers have only led to more questions. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh highlighted that the facts regarding their financial dealings remain unchallenged and called into question whether Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were aware of these issues since at least 2022.
Ramesh's remarks followed Sitharaman’s recent statement in which she noted that Buch and her husband were addressing the conflict of interest allegations. “The finance minister has finally addressed the issue of the Sebi chairperson’s multiple conflicts of interest,” Ramesh said in a post on X. “However, these responses only raise further concerns.”
He questioned whether the government considers these facts trivial or if they compromise the functioning of the capital markets regulator. Ramesh also asked if the Supreme Court-mandated Sebi investigation into the Adani Group has been truly fair and impartial.
Finance Minister Sitharaman, who had previously stated that “facts need to be taken on board,” declined to judge the adequacy of Buch’s responses. In a joint statement last Friday, Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval denied the Congress allegations, describing them as false, malicious, and motivated. They repeated that Buch has adhered to Sebi’s recusal guidelines and made all required disclosures.
