PUDUCHERRY: Several leaders and functionaries of the Puducherry Congress unit staged a demonstration on Tuesday demanding the resignation of SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the Adani issue.
The protest is part of the opposition's ongoing efforts to pressure the centre, in light of the recent allegations against Buch by Hindenburg Research, an activist short-selling firm.
The investment research firm alleged that Buch and her husband held stakes in obscure offshore entities used in the alleged money-siphoning scandal involving the Adani Group. Both Buch and her husband have dismissed the allegations, maintaining that their finances are transparent and open to scrutiny. However, the Congress party continues to push for a thorough and transparent investigation through a JPC.
Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President and Lok Sabha member V Vaithilingam led the protest, accompanied by former chief minister V Narayanasamy. The protesters also urged that a caste-based census must be conducted alongside the population census, the latter was originally scheduled for 2021.
Vaithilingam criticised the centre's decision not to include caste enumeration in the next census. Further, he accused Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy of misleading the public with promises of free rice. The people are hit by inflation and the chief minister, he said, still has not made any commitment on when the free rice will be distributed.
The protest saw participants chanting slogans against both the central and state governments, expressing their dissatisfaction with the current administration's handling of various issues. Among the notable attendees were Congress MLA M Vaidyanathan, former ministers MOHF Shahjahan, M Kandasamy, V Pethaperumal, and former MLAs Bhalan, RKR Anandharaman, Neelagangatharan, and Karthikeyan.
Senior Vice President Devdassou and leaders and cadres from various wings of the Congress party also participated. Congress supporters from all constituencies, arriving on motorcycles and in vans, took part in the protest to express their solidarity with the party's demands.