A number of industry veterans rubbished the allegations made by Hindenburg Research and came out in support of SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch on social media, even as a section of political parties called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe.
Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys and a prominent industry voice on various issues, said the allegations were an attempt at character assassination by a “vulture fund” and were aimed at sensationalism.
“There was an SC-monitored investigation overseen by an eminent panel. When the vulture fund was fully exposed it throws mud. Such a desire to throw SEBI chair under the bus based on an innuendo-filled, evidence-free note from a little short-seller with poor reputation in my country. Why?” asked Pai.
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Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, former Chief Economic Adviser to the government, said he had personally known Buch for about two decades and vouched for her unimpeachable integrity and intellectual prowess. “I’m sure she will shred to smithereens this Hindenburg hit job,” he said on platform X.
JN Gupta, Managing Director of proxy advisory firm Stakeholders’ Empowerment Services and former executive director at SEBI, told businessline that Buch had impeccable integrity, and was extremely efficient and target-oriented. “She is someone who understands the markets well and has a no-nonsense approach. Her only alleged shortcoming is that she is a tough taskmaster, which in my opinion is a positive trait that emanates from her intellectual honesty and sense of purpose,” he said.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani said Hindenburg’s announcement prior to its alleged big revelation did not behoove a reputed research analyst and revealed its motive to destabilise India’s stock markets.
“Instead of responding to the charges by SEBI, Hindenburg has chosen to attack its Chairperson on the ground of conflict of interest. The picture that emerges is that of a US-based profiteer who made millions of dollars at the cost of Indian retail investors and is now brazenly defaming the latter without answering its questions,” he said.
Mutual fund industry body AMFI said that India had built a regulatory framework aligned with global best practices and the recent comments against the SEBI Chair were an attempt to create a trust deficit in the market ecosystem.
“The regulator has created a well-functioning market, with several measures taken under the current leadership of SEBI Chairperson. Investors must be rest assured that India’s financial system is secure, transparent, and designed to foster growth and innovation with high integrity driven right from the top of the institution,” AMFI said in a note.
Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress, called for a JPC probe. “New allegations have surfaced regarding a quid-pro-quo involving the SEBI Chief. The small and medium investors who invest their hard-earned money in the stock market need to be protected, as they believe in the SEBI,” he said.
BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar attributed the attack on SEBI to global forces and the Congress, with the aim of discrediting the regulator and causing chaos and losses in the markets for investors.
“India’s financial sector has been rebuilt in the last 10 years into a vibrant financial system. Even as banks in the US fail and stock markets collapse, Indian banks and markets continue to grow. Many global forces, with the help of the Congress, want to slow down or trip up India’s rise. We wont let them,” he said.