Institutional collapse given way to dangerous form of cronyism: Rahul’s fresh attack on SEBI chief

New Delhi, Oct 28 (PTI) Stepping up his attack over conflicts of interest allegations against SEBI chief Madhabi Buch, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the current regime is no longer merely encouraging monopolies but actively concentrating the nation’s wealth in the hands of a few.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, made the remarks in his post along with a video featuring him and Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera in which they talk about the alleged conflicts of interest of SEBI chief Buch.

“Institutional collapse has now given way to a more dangerous form of cronyism — Adani Bachao. The current regime is no longer merely encouraging monopolies, it’s actively concentrating the nation’s wealth in the hands of a few,” Gandhi said.

The Madhabi Buch scandal goes deeper than initially imagined, he said, adding that it may be that Buch, entrusted with safeguarding retail investors, has been manipulating the system to protect Adani’s interests and his inflated valuations.

Those entrusted with protecting common Indians and their investments have abrogated their responsibilities and are indulging in wide scale corruption and malpractice, he alleged.

The Congress has consistently raised these issues, is investigating these scams, and exposing the truth to the public, Gandhi said.

In the video, Khera is seen explaining to Gandhi the various conflicts of interest allegations against Buch and how there were powers behind her that were at work, an apparent reference to the Adani Group.

Sharing the video, the party said the role of SEBI chairperson is to maintain the security of the stock market and ensure investments of common Indians are not at risk. However, when the chairperson is involved in manipulating the market to benefit a single player – like the Adani Group – then everyone’s money is at risk, it said.

“That is what is happening with the Madhabi Buch Scandal. She has been placed in this position by PM Modi and HM Amit Shah to give Adani a clean chit in allegations of stock manipulation,” it said.