Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday sharply criticized the opposition for its attacks on the Narendra Modi government in connection with the new Hindenburg report.
US-based short seller Hindenburg Research alleged that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairwoman Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband owned shares in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani embezzlement scandal.
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After the report became known, opposition parties, including the Congress, sharply criticized the Modi government and demanded a joint investigation into the allegations against Buch by a parliamentary committee.
Trivedi, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, accused the opposition of trying to create “economic chaos in India” through confusion.
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“Why has Congress always been supporting foreign companies for the last 30-40 years? For the last few years, every time the Parliament session starts, a foreign report is released. The BBC documentary was released just before the Parliament session. The Hindenburg report came out in January just before the Parliament session. All these scenes are taking place during the Parliament session,” Trivedi told ANI.
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“The opposition has such foreign connections that they create instability and anarchy in every session of India’s parliament. They want to create economic chaos in India by creating confusion. Now they are attacking SEBI. Why has the Congress always sided with foreign companies for the last 30-40 years? Why has it sided with Union Carbide?” he added.
In a detailed statement, Buch and her husband rejected all allegations against them and described them as an “attempt to damage their reputation.”
SEBI defended its Chairperson on the grounds that Buch made relevant disclosures from time to time and also refrained from disputing any issues involving potential conflicts of interest.
The Adani Group denied any business dealings with the SEBI chief, while asset management firm 360ONE – formerly IIFL Wealth Management – separately said that Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch’s investment in IPE-Plus Fund 1 was less than 1.5 percent of total inflows and that there were no investments in Adani Group shares.
