Hindenburg-Adani Row: Congress Calls For Nationwide Protests On Aug 22

Congress General Secretary Venugopal said it was unanimously decided at the meeting that the party will hold a nationwide agitation on August 22, demanding the SEBI chief's resignation and a JPC probe into Adani issue.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 13 August 2024 5:30 pm

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge (L) and Rahul Gandhi (R) Photo: PTI

The Congress on Tuesday announced that the party will hold a nationwide protests on August 22 demanding SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch's resignation and a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue after the Hindenburg report sparked a row.

The announcement came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge met with all the general secretaries, state unit leaders, and AICC state in-charges. They discussed how to prepare for the upcoming assembly elections and went over important organizational and national issues.

In a post on X, Kharge wrote, "The shocking revelations of a nexus between the SEBI and Adani needs a thorough investigation. The money of small investors in the stock market cannot be jeopardised."

The Modi government must immediately seek the resignation of the SEBI chairperson and constitute a JPC in this regard, he said.

Briefing reporters on the meeting, Venugopal said it was unanimously decided at the meeting that the party will hold a nationwide agitation on August 22, demanding the SEBI chief's resignation and a JPC probe into Adani issue.

Hindenburg Research on August 10 released a report that claimed that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had investments in little-known offshore funds involved in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.

The allegations have triggered a political slugfest with the Congress and other INDIA bloc parties demanding her removal and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe while the BJP accused the opposition of being a part of a conspiracy to create financial instability and chaos in India.

Buch and her husband have dismissed the charges as baseless and alleged that Hindenburg Research was attacking capital markets regulator SEBI's credibility and attempting a character assassination of its chief instead of replying to a showcause notice served to it for "violations in India".

The SEBI said the allegations against the Adani Group had been "duly investigated" and its chairperson disclosed and from time to time "also recused herself in matters involving potential conflicts of interest".

The Adani Group termed the allegations malicious and based on manipulation of select public information. The company said it had no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husband.