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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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
