Protected by whom? Rahul Gandhi after Sebi chief skips parliamentary panel meet

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Thursday criticised Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch, asking why she was reluctant to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament.
His remarks came hours after Buch, who was summoned by the PAC today, skipped the meeting, citing “pressing reasons”. The PAC had called Buch to review the functioning of Sebi following allegations of conflict of interest made by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg, which she has strongly denied.
In a post on X, Gandhi also asked who is behind the “plan” to protect her from being answerable to the panel.
“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?” the Congress leader asked.
After Buch skipped the meeting, Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, who heads the PAC, postponed the sitting, with ruling NDA members accusing him of taking unilateral decisions and lodging a protest with the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Sebi has been under attack from the Congress and other opposition parties after a report by Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of “stock price manipulation”.
Last month, Hindenburg alleged that Sebi’s reluctance to act against the Adani Group could be due to the “chairperson holding stakes in offshore funds linked to the conglomerate”. Buch, however, dismissed these allegations as “baseless”.
She also faced allegations of holding an office of profit at ICICI Bank, a claim that the bank has firmly denied.
Last month, Congress alleged that Buch earned Rs 16.80 crore from ICICI Bank between 2017 and 2024, despite becoming a full-time member of Sebi in 2017.