Citing exigencies, Chairperson of Securities & Exchange Board of India Madhabi Puri Buch skipped appearing before Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Thursday. The meeting plunged into heated arguments and chaos as BJP MPs demanded voting on the issue of summoning Buch.

There is no clarity whether she will be summoned again. Technically speaking, as the head of an institution, she can be asked to respond on report by Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG). Sources said as of now there is no report given by CAG.

As soon as the meeting of PAC began, its Chairman and Congress MP KC Venugopal said Buch would not be appearing as was expected. He postponed the sitting and left the meeting room even as 13 members of the committee belonging to the ruling NDA continued sitting. Later, Venugopal told reporters that the committee received a communication from Buch at 9.30 am that she and her team will not be able to appear before the panel due to “exigencies”.

“Considering her request, we thought it better to postpone today’s meeting for another day,” Venugopal said as he along with other Opposition members left the venue minutes after the meeting began and sharp exchanges started between the ruling MPs and INDIA bloc MPs.  

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson K C Venugopal interacts with the media after the committee’s meeting was postponed, in New Delhi

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson K C Venugopal interacts with the media after the committee’s meeting was postponed, in New Delhi | Photo Credit: -

BJP members accused Venugopal of not letting them put across their views. They later said he acted in a “suo motu” manner, suggesting that his decision to summon Buch and even some other regulatory bodies was his own and guided by partisan politics.

PAC member and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that there are many standing committees that review the performance of various bodies e.g. the panel on finance scrutinises the work of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India. “Your (Venugopal) own words are ‘suo motu’. How did you decide (on summoning Buch)? The PAC’s job is to consider CAG reports. We have this information from reliable sources that the CAG has made no mention of SEBI. His conduct is unparliamentary. The conduct of the chairperson in the way he adjourned the meeting, did not allow us to speak. And (he) walked out (which) shows he has extraneous political considerations,” he said.

The former law minister said ruling NDA was in a majority in the meeting. “Our main objection was about how he (Venugopal) made ‘suo motu’ selection of subjects without consulting other members. Nobody had an inkling of the list that was prepared,” said Prasad, flanked by other NDA members of the panel. Later, the NDA members met Speaker Om Birla later to register their protest against Venugopal.

Panel’s agenda

The committee’s decision to include in its agenda the performance review of regulatory bodies established by acts of Parliament had invited no protest, but Venugopal’s move to call Buch irked BJP members.

Later, when the Committee met in the afternoon to record oral evidence of officials from the Communication Ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the debate continued on the SEBI member. In fact, NDA members demanded voting on Chair’s action on summoning Buch, but the demand was rejected.  

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