New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday held nationwide protests over Hindenburg Research's allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, demanding her removal and the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Adani issue.
The opposition party has been stepping up its attack on the government after Hindenburg Research launched a fresh broadside against market regulator SEBI chairperson Buch, claiming she and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.
The protest here at the Jantar Mantar was attended by Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav, senior leader Sachin Pilot, Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj among others. The Congress wants a transparent investigation into the matter, Pilot said.
"If you have not done anything wrong, then why are you not forming a JPC? The entire nation should hear this and understand that the Congress only wants a fair and transparent investigation through a JPC," he said.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy demanded that BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao spell out his stand over SEBI chief Buch's resignation and the constitution of a JPC to probe into alleged fraudulent practices by the Adani Group.
Reddy, who is also the Telangana Congress chief, took part in a dharna in Hyderabad along with his ministerial colleagues and party legislators, demanding the SEBI chief's resignation and the JPC probe into the alleged Adani financial fraud.
Speaking during the protest, Reddy attacked BRS leaders for not questioning the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre over the 'scam'. "I am asking the BRS leaders who make tall claims that they will fight against Modi, what have you done so far? Why have you not raised your voice," he asked.
Reddy said the Congress is not concerned whether the BRS merges into the BJP, but KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) has to reveal his stand on the SEBI issue. In Mumbai, city Congress unit chief Varsha Gaikwad said a JPC must probe the allegations by short-seller Hindenburg Research against Buch and the Gautam Adani group.
Leading the protest of her party outside the Enforcement Directorate office in south Mumbai, Lok Sabha MP Gaikwad said the central probe agency raids opposition leaders but is turning a blind eye in the SEBI-Adani case.
"Our demand is that JPC must be formed to probe the Hindenburg allegations," Gaikwad said and questioned why Buch had not resigned as SEBI chief yet. The Uttar Pradesh Congress held a demonstration in Lucknow, demanding Buch's resignation and a JPC-led probe.
Led by state Congress president Ajay Rai, a large number of party leaders and workers protested outside the Raj Bhavan. The Congress' state spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said party workers were marching towards the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Lucknow but police stopped them near the Raj Bhavan, where they held their demonstration.
Rai said the recent Hindenburg Research has completely exposed "corruption". "SEBI chief Madhavi Buch should resign or she should be dismissed," he added. Rai also said that the Hindenburg report has exposed the Adani group's "scams". The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) staged a protest outside the Enforcement Directorate's office in Guwahati.
The protest march was led by Congress state president Bhupen Borah and included prominent party figures such as MPs Pradyut Bordoloi and Rakibul Hussain, the party's legislature party leader Debabrata Saikia, and other senior party leaders.
Dhubri Congress MP Rakibul Hussain alleged that investigating agencies such as the ED and the CBI and even constitutional bodies like the Election Commission are now no longer independent and are working under the directions of the BJP government at the Centre.
The PCC chief said the Congress will not tolerate this and will demand that all cases of corruption against business houses loyal to the ruling BJP are investigated in a proper manner. Leading a "gherao" of the ED office in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief Jitu Patwari alleged that the agency is acting as a shield for the "Centre-backed corrupt people".
The BJP government wants to crush the voice of the Congress with the help of water cannons, he said on 'X' and posted a video of water cannons being used against protesting party workers.
Congress workers in Rajasthan too held a protest under the leadership of state unit president Govind Dotasra. The party's Haryana and Punjab units held separate protests in Chandigarh led by the respective state unit leaders.
The Congress state units in Goa, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh also held protests to reiterate the party's demands over the issue.
Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba sought to know why the SEBI chairperson has not resigned after Hindenburg's allegations of a conflict of interest against her.
SEBI chairman Buch and her husband have denied the allegations levelled against them as baseless and asserted that their finances are an open book.
The Adani Group has also termed Hindenburg Research's latest allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information, saying it has no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husband.
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