Sebi withdraws press release on unprofessional work culture
New Delhi (PTI): Capital markets regulator Sebi on Monday withdrew its press release issued in September 4, which addressed claims of unprofessional work culture, stating that these concerns are "misplaced" and reaffirmed that employee-related issues will be managed internally.
The withdrawal came days after a protest by a large number of Sebi employees outside the regulator's headquarters on September 5, a day after the press release. They had demanded the withdrawal of the statement and the resignation of Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch.
In a statement on Monday, Sebi acknowledged the critical role its employees have played over the past thirty-six years in shaping the Indian securities market into one of the most dynamic and well-regulated markets globally.
Sebi said it addresses employee-related matters through appropriate internal mechanisms.
"Following constructive discussions with representatives of all grades of officers, Sebi and its employees have reaffirmed that such issues are strictly internal and will be managed in accordance with the organization's high standards of governance and within a time-bound framework," the regulator said.
Accordingly, the press release issued on September 4 has been withdrawn.
The decision to retract the press release came after employees strongly condemned the unauthorized dissemination of internal communications.
Sebi employees have reiterated their commitment to resolving concerns amicably through established internal channels, ensuring that such matters remain internal and managed within a time-bound framework.
"Employees have strongly condemned the unauthorized release of internal communication and have confirmed that all concerns shall be addressed amicably through established internal channels," the statement noted.
For Puri, protests and internal issues have come at a time when she is probably facing the most challenging times in her stint. The career banker-turned-regulator is battling speculations on whether a conflict of interest made her go slow on the probe against Adani Group and a raft of other allegations around it.
In what is unprecedented for any financial regulator, around 500 employees wrote to the Finance Ministry on August 6, against the top management, for what they called a "toxic" work environment, which includes instances of public humiliation and shouting down.
After the publishing of a media report about the letter, Sebi responded with a press release, which stated such claims are "misplaced", which seemed to have irked the employees.
The regulator stated that some "external elements" had instigated its employees into believing that they shouldn't be held to high standards of performance and accountability, though, it did not provide specific details.
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Cong says LoPs not invited to Putin banquet, takes swipe at Tharoor for accepting invite
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday said Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have not been invited to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took a swipe at its own MP Shashi Tharoor for accepting the invite.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "There has been speculation whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha have been invited for tonight's official dinner in honour of President Putin. The two LoPs have not been invited."
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
"There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government," he told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event.
Asked about party MP Tharoor getting invited to the banquet and accepting the invitation, Khera said, "Ask Mr. Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable and those who accept such an invite is also questionable," Khera said.
"We would have listened to our voice of conscience," he added.
Earlier, Tharoor said there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited but that practice seems to have stopped from some years.
"It has been resumed ...I have been invited, yes. I will definitely go," the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs said.
On the LoPs reportedly not getting an invite, Tharoor said, "I don't know on what basis invitations were sent. I think the custom that usually used to be followed was for a wide representation. Certainly, I remember in the olden days, they used to invite not only the LoPs, (but) various other cross section of representatives of different parties. It conveys a good impression."
"I dont know the basis (of invitation), this is all done by the government, by the protocol by the Rashtrapati Bhawan, what do I know. All I can say I have honoured to have been invited. Of course I will go," Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex.
Gandhi on Thursday had alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks had come hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
Gandhi had said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm.
"Normally the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's time, Manmohan Singh ji's time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the government suggests to them to not meet the LoP," Gandhi had told reporters in Parliament House complex.
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