PAC meeting postponed as SEBI chief Buch fails to appear, BJP miffed at panel chair Venugopal
New Delhi (PTI): Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday postponed its sitting after SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and other officials expressed inability to attend the meeting, panel chairperson K C Venugopal said.
Buch, under a cloud over allegations of conflict of interest levelled by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, was asked to appear before the PAC, which is reviewing the performance of the market regulator.
"Today morning at 9:30, we got a communication from the SEBI chairperson and other members that because of a personal emergency, she is unable to travel to Delhi," Venugopal told reporters here.
Considering that the request was made by a woman, the committee decided to postpone the sitting to another day, he said.
After the PAC meeting was postponed, its member and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Venugopal of taking suo motu decisions. He also said that several PAC members, including those from the BJP and its alliance partners, are approaching LS Speaker Om Birla against Venugopal's conduct.
The PAC is also examining matters related to the Department of Telecommunications and that meeting will go ahead as scheduled during the post-lunch session.
The committee's decision to include the performance review of regulatory bodies established by legislation in its agenda invited no protest, but Venugopal's move to call Buch raised hackles of the BJP members as she has been at the centre of a political row ignited by the Hindenburg's allegations.
The short-seller's accusation against Buch was seized upon by the Congress to seek her ouster and to attack the government, rendering political dimensions to the panel's missive to her to appear before it.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, a member of the panel, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Venugopal, accusing the senior Congress leader of raking up "non-existent" issues to defame the central government and "destabilise" the country's financial structure and economy.
Accusing Venugopal of "unconstitutional and disdainful" conduct, Dubey claimed the Congress leader's conduct is guided by political motivations as voters compelled his party to sit in the opposition benches following the Lok Sabha polls.
Claiming that unverified allegations by a foreign company like Hindenburg against Buch were part of such a campaign, he alleged that the 'India Chapter' of this toolkit has become active.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
