PAC meeting postponed after SEBI chief Buch expresses inability to attend

After the PAC meeting was postponed, its member and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Venugopal of taking suo motu decisions

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) postponed its meeting on Thursday after Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch expressed her inability to attend citing a personal emergency.

Ravi Shankar Prasad said Puri should not have been called adding that Venugopal’s words were “suo moto” decided. (Reuters photo)

“In the first meeting of the committee itself, we decided to have a suo moto subject for review of our regulatory bodies. That is why we called for a review of SEBI this morning. The committee branch sent the notice to the concerned people. First of all, they sought an exemption, SEBI chairperson sought an exemption from appearing before the committee which we denied. After that, she confirmed she and her team would be present on this committee. …Today morning, at 9:30am, she [SEBI chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch] informed me that due to a personal exigency she is unable to travel to Delhi. Considering a woman’s request, we thought that it is better to postpone today’s meeting for another day,” committee chairperson KC Venugopal said after the meeting.

After the PAC meeting was postponed, BJP MP and PAC member Ravi Shankar Prasad said Buch Puri should not have been called adding that Venugopal’s words were “suo moto” decided.

“This is a very big issue. His [Venugopal’s] words were ‘sou moto’ decided’. How did you decide? PAC’s work is to deliberate over CAG report. We have also got information from trusted sources that there is no paragraph over SEBI in CAG report,” Prasad said.

Other PAC members and BJP MPs, including Nishikant Dubey, Jagdambika Pal, Aparajita Sarangi, and Tejasvi Surya, went to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about the issue after the adjourned meeting.