Mayawati: Hindenburg-SEBI Issue Beyond Ruling Party-Opposition Debate

Lucknow, Aug 13 (PTI) Hindenburg Research's allegations against the SEBI chairperson have now gone beyond a debate between the ruling party and the opposition and are affecting the Centre's credibility, BSP chief Mayawati said on Tuesday.

She also said that it would have been better if the Centre had ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter by now.

Hindenburg Research on August 10 alleged that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said in a post on X, "First the Adani Group and now the SEBI chief-related Hindenburg report are again in the news and the allegations and counter-allegations are continuing to such an extent that it is being said to affect the national interest. Despite the clarifications provided by Adani and SEBI, the issue remains on the boil."

"By the way, this issue is now beyond debate between the ruling party and the opposition and is affecting the goodwill ('saakh') and credibility of the Centre itself … It would have been better if the Centre had ordered a high-level inquiry, ie JPC or judicial inquiry, by now," she said in Hindi.

Hindenburg Research's allegations against Buch have triggered a political suggest 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.

The opposition parties also urged the Supreme Court to step in on the issue.

Buch and her husband 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".

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.