Hindenburg row: BJP slams Rahul for questioning 'integrity' of SEBI
The Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for raising questions on the integrity of Indian stock markets based on the allegations by United States-based short seller Hindenburg. On Sunday, Gandhi claimed that the Indian stock markets were facing serious risks and questioned the "integrity" of the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Gandhi added that the SEBI has been "severely compromised" due to allegations against its chairperson.
Why does this story matter?
The Hindenburg report claims that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had investments in a sub-fund of the Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund. The sub-fund is allegedly connected to illegal share ownership and price manipulation by the Adani Group. Both Buch and the Adani Group have denied these allegations. Buch called the claims baseless, emphasizing that all required disclosures were made before her appointment. The Adani Group dismissed the allegations as desperate and misleading.
'Destruction of India...': Malviya
In a post on X, BJP leader Amit Malviya said, "The Leader of Opposition is now openly inciting and seeding doubt about the genuineness of the Indian stock markets. This blatant attempt to undermine confidence in our economy reveals the true intention of Rahul Gandhi, which is nothing but the destruction of India." He added that Gandhi's comments disregard the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee's conclusion that there was no regulatory failure related to the price manipulation allegations made by Hindenburg.
Read: Malviya's post here
Here's what Gandhi said
In response to the report, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Gandhi raised three questions in an X post. "Why hasn't SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch resigned yet? If investors lose their hard-earned money, who will be held accountable—PM Modi [Prime Minister Narendra Modi], the SEBI Chairperson, or Gautam Adani?" he said, "In light of the new and very serious allegations that have surfaced, will the Supreme Court look into this matter suo moto once again?" he added.
