The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday accused Congress leaders of being part of a larger conspiracy that sought to use Hindenburg Research’s allegations against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman to “crash” the Indian stock market and harm small investors.
The Congress, for its part, kept up the pressure on the government and the Sebi chief, threatening nationwide protests over the issue.
Addressing a press conference, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the stock market showed resilience on Monday and thwarted the plans of the “toolkit gang” involving Congress, Hindenburg Research and billionaire investor George Soros.
Prasad said Soros “is an investor in Hindenburg” and “is known for making propaganda against the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
“In its pathological hatred towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi and his friends, has developed hatred towards India,” he said.
Prasad said Sebi had sent a notice to Hindenburg Research as part of its investigation into the Supreme Court order following the firm’s allegations of stock market manipulation against the Adani group. Hindenburg never responded but instead launched an attack on Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, he said.
Prasad called the opposition’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the allegations, which he said was made with the intention of destabilising India’s economy, a “farce”.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the Supreme Court should transfer its ongoing probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a special investigation team “given the likelihood of Sebi being compromised”.
Ramesh said Sebi, in its August 11 statement, mentioned that it had issued 100 summons, 1,100 letters and emails and examined 300 documents running into 12,000 pages in the ongoing investigations into certain financial transactions of the Adani group. Sebi has tried to project an image of hyperactivity, but it diverts attention from the core issues involved, Ramesh said. “Actions matter, not activities,” he said.
Ramesh said the Supreme Court had on March 3, 2023, directed Sebi to “expeditiously conclude the investigation” into allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud against the Adani group within two months.
“Now, eighteen months later, Sebi has revealed that a critical probe, likely related to whether Adani violated Rule 19A relating to minimum public shareholding, remains incomplete. The fact is that Sebi’s apparent inability to close two of its 24 probes delayed the publication of its findings for over a year,” Ramesh said. Despite the Adani group’s claims of having received a “clean bill of health”, Sebi has reportedly sent show-cause notices to several Adani companies in connection with these allegations, the Congress leader said.
Commenting on the recent revelations, Ramesh said, “The illusion that the Sebi chairperson and her husband had separated their finances has been shattered with the revelation that after joining Sebi, she transacted with the fund from her personal email account on February 25, 2018.” He asked whether “conflicts of interest explain the protracted investigation.”
Praveen Chakravarty, president of the All India Professionals Congress, said the episode highlighted “the need for technocrats and lateral entrants into senior positions in public life to be ethically, legally and visually transparent.” He said bodies such as the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council also have several members who simultaneously hold private sector positions in financial markets that allow them to profit from material non-public information. “The picture does not augur well even if all the members are capable individuals of the highest integrity,” he said.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh said Hindenburg Research had defamed the country in alliance with the Congress and “strictest action” would be taken against the American short-seller.
First published: August 12, 2024 | 10:17 PM IS
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