'Why is Madhabi Buch reluctant?': Rahul Gandhi after Sebi chief skips PAC meeting

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Madhabi Puri Buch, the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for her absence from a meeting with the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday. Gandhi alleged that someone was shielding Buch from being accountable to the PAC.
"Why is Madhabi Buch reluctant to answer questions before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament? Who is behind the plan to protect her from being answerable to the PAC?" Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
The PAC meeting was postponed due to a ruckus that arose after Buch failed to appear before the committee. According to sources, she was expected to attend the meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. KC Venugopal, the Congress leader who chairs the PAC, informed reporters that Buch had notified him on Thursday morning about her inability to travel to Delhi.
"In the first meeting of the committee itself, we decided to have a suo moto subject for review of our regulatory bodies. That is why we called SEBI, today morning for a review of SEBI. The committee branch sends the notice to the concerned people. First of all, they sought an exemption, SEBI chairperson sought an exemption from appearing before the committee which we denied. After that, she confirmed she and her team would be present on this committee... Today morning, she (SEBI chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch) informed me that she is not in a position to travel to Delhi. Considering a woman's request we thought that it is better to postpone today's meeting for another day," Venugopal said.
BJP Leader Ravi Shankar Prasad criticized Venugopal for discussing the PAC meeting's proceedings with the media, accusing the opposition members of unparliamentary behavior. "Generally, we don't discuss the proceedings of standing committees or PAC's meetings outside. It pains us that the chairman of the PAC, KC Venugopal, gave a byte outside. We were in the majority in the PAC meeting today. We objected to his suo moto decision to choose the subject, did he ask anyone? We had serious reservations about the procedure adopted in the PAC meeting... It was strange, he (KC Venugopal) rose suddenly and walked away," he said.
In September, SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch issued a joint statement, describing the recent allegations against them as "false, incorrect, malicious and motivated".