The News Caravan

Tag: Allegations

  •  Scholar’s Allegations Against Supervisor Investigated Promptly, As Per Law: KU

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    SRINAGAR: The University of Kashmir said on Friday that its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) investigated the complaint filed by a PhD scholar against her then Supervisor promptly and as per the law, refuting that any “obstruction” was created in the matter.

    Referring to a news report on some social media platforms which came into the notice of the University about the instant matter, a KU spokesperson said the University took all steps necessary to address the alleged complaint with promptness and to facilitate the complainant in completion of her PhD degree.

    “Upon receiving the alleged complaint from the National Commission for Women, New Delhi, the University referred the matter to its Women’s Empowerment and Grievance Committee without delay. Since the complaint involved allegations of sexual harassment, as well as a complaint about the delay in the complainant’s PhD thesis submission, the matter was also referred to the University’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC),” the spokesperson said in a statement to GNS, adding that the ICC provided the complainant with a fair opportunity to record her statement freely and without fear, and the faculty member against whom the complaint was made was also provided with the same opportunity.

    To arrive at a just conclusion, the Committee also contacted the teaching and non-teaching staff at CCAS to record their observations. According to the complainant’s recorded statement before the ICC, she alleged that she was harassed in 2016 while she was preparing her synopsis and had not yet registered for her PhD,” the spokesperson said.

    “However, she did not file a complaint with the authorities until December 2019 i.e. a gap of almost three years. As per the provisions of UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in HEIs) Regulations, 2015, an aggrieved person/complainant can file a written complaint within three months of the incident. However despite this time lapse, the ICC went ahead with the investigating the complaint and subsequently submitted its report to the competent authority,” the spokesperson said, adding that the ICC’s report concluded, among other things, that the complaint was a result of “animosity resulting from non-compatibility between the scholar and the supervisor.”

    “In view of the non-compatibility, a Co-Supervisor was nominated by the University to Co-supervise the complainant’s PhD and undertake all the process including evaluation/examination, academic clearance, formulation of panel of examiners, supervisor’s report, viva-voce, and any other necessary formalities. The co-supervisor, from the Department of Sociology, was also authorised to assess and examine the thesis of the complainant and undertake all other formalities leading to the award of the PhD degree.”

    The PhD degree was subsequently awarded to the complainant on 12.12.2022.

    The University strongly denies any obstruction of action in the matter at hand. The University reiterates that it is fully committed to address any complaints related to sexual harassment and it recognises the importance of handling such complaints with utmost sensitivity. We are deeply committed to creating a fully secure academic institution/workplace for our students and women employees in all our campuses, and we will continue to ensure that complaints related to sexual harassment are handled in a timely, just and fair manner,” the spokesperson said.

    The allegation that the University delayed action in the matter is far from the truth and is strongly refuted. “The University reserves the right to take appropriate legal action in case of furnishing wrong information since it involves the prestige and reputation of the institution,” the spokesperson said. (GNS)

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    #Scholars #Allegations #Supervisor #Investigated #Promptly #Law

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • Kejriwal levelling allegations on Centre, PM to hide own mistakes: Delhi BJP

    Kejriwal levelling allegations on Centre, PM to hide own mistakes: Delhi BJP

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    New Delhi: The Delhi BJP slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, accusing him of creating a row over the city government’s budget for “cheap publicity” and to hide his own mistakes.

    Addressing a press conference here, Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal was levelling allegations at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to divert attention from the corruption charges faced by the city government.

    “The Kejriwal government sat on the clarifications sought by the Ministry of Home Affairs for three days and then blamed the Centre for stopping the budget,” Sachdeva said.

    Kejriwal on Monday alleged that the Centre had stopped the budget presentation of his government.

    The Delhi budget, which was to be tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday, requires prior approval from the Centre. The Centre finally approved the budget, paving way for its tabling in the Assembly on Wednesday.

    Addressing the Assembly earlier in the day, Kejriwal assailed the Centre and the LG office, saying the whole issue was raised by them for ego satisfaction that Delhi government bows down to them.

    “We replied to their queries and no other change was made in the budget and now it has been approved. This shows that the whole thing was created for ego satisfaction,” he said.

    Sachdeva said the outburst of Kejriwal and use of “derogatory” words by him in the Assembly showed he was “frustrated” and was trying to divert attention from “corruption” of his government.

    He didn’t tell why his government sat over the budget file for three days and did not send it to the LG earlier.

    “The file was sent to the LG at 9.30 PM on Monday and within next 12 hours it was cleared by the Centre,” he said.

    This shows that Kejriwal is only trying to defame the central government by doing “low level politics” and levelling “baseless” allegations, he alleged.

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    #Kejriwal #levelling #allegations #Centre #hide #mistakes #Delhi #BJP

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • TSPSC paper leak: SIT serves notice to Cong leader over allegations

    TSPSC paper leak: SIT serves notice to Cong leader over allegations

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    Hyderabad: Telangana Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the question paper leak in TSPSC has issued a notice to state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy, asking him to share whatever information he has about the case.

    The SIT, which has stepped up the probe with the questioning of nine accused, is also issuing notices to those making allegations relating to the case.

    Revanth Reddy, however, said he has not yet received the SIT notice. He said he was not afraid of SIT notice and would share whatever evidence he has if a judicial probe is ordered in the case.

    The development came a day after Revanth Reddy made a serious allegation that state minister K.T. Rama Rao’s personal assistant was also involved in the paper leak.

    The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president had said on Sunday that KTR’s personal assistant (PA) Tirupati and one of the key accused in the case, Rajasekhara Reddy, were friends.

    He also claimed that Tirupati helped Rajasekhar Reddy get a job in the Telangana State Technological Services (TSTS) on outsourcing basis and later ensured he lands a job in Telangana State Public Service Commission �(TSPSC) in a key role.

    Rajasekhar Reddy is one of the two employees of TSPSC who have been arrested by the police for question paper leak. Rajasekhar Reddy, a network expert, allegedly copied question papers of several exams from confidential systems in the Commission and gave the same to Praveen Kumar, who then shared it with some aspirants for money.

    During a protest in Kamareddy district on Sunday, the Congress leader had also claimed that Tirupati and Rajasekhar are friends hailing from neighbouring villages in Malyala mandal of Jagtiyal district and that 100 people belonging to Malyal mandal secured more than 100 marks in Group-1 Prelims. He had demanded that TSPSC should reveal names of 100 people who scored more than 100 marks.

    The TPCC chief had also alleged irregularities in 2016 Group-1 results. He said that Madhur, the topper of that exam, came straight from the US to write the exam and secured the first rank. Rajinikanth Reddy, a TSPSC employee, secured fourth rank in that exam.

    Revanth Reddy demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the High Court saying a thorough probe was needed to find out from which year the question paper leak was going on.

    The TSPSC had conducted the examination on March 5 for 833 vacancies of Assistant Engineer, Municipal Assistant Engineer, Technical Officer, and Junior Technical Officer in various engineering departments. A total of 55,000 candidates had written the exam.

    However, the Commission suspected leakage of the question paper and lodged a complaint with the police.

    On March 13, police arrested nine people, including two employees of the TSPSC.

    Following the arrest of the accused, the Commission cancelled the exam and also postponed other exams scheduled to be held later this month.

    Amid doubts that the accused may have leaked question papers of some other exams, the Commission on Friday decided to cancel three other exams, including Group I Prelims.

    Nearly 2.86 lakh aspirants of Group I posts had appeared in Group-I exam conducted on October 16, 2022.

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    #TSPSC #paper #leak #SIT #serves #notice #Cong #leader #allegations

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • AAP leaders making ‘baseless’ allegations out of ‘frustration’, claims BJP

    AAP leaders making ‘baseless’ allegations out of ‘frustration’, claims BJP

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    New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday claimed that AAP leaders were “making baseless allegations out of frustration” as the Arvind Kejriwal government’s “scams” were being exposed one after another.

    Earlier in the day, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha accused the BJP of trying to topple the Kejriwal government by threatening them with ED and CBI raids if they don’t join the saffron party.

    The BJP has mounted a sustained attack on the AAP and the Arvind Kejriwal government over a number of alleged “scams”, most prominently the one related to the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22.

    Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, “Every time Arvind Kejriwal’s scams are uncovered, rather than giving answers to questions he asks the AAP leaders to start crying that their government is facing threat and their MLAs are being poached.”

    Kejriwal does this to “divert attention” from the investigations being conducted by different probe agencies, Bidhuri said.

    He claimed that AAP leaders have levelled “baseless and fabricated” allegations against the BJP out of frustration.

    “Two AAP ministers are in jail for corruption which was masterminded by Arvind Kejriwal. He made the ministers do all corruption and grabbed all the money, and later sacrificed them,” Bidhuri alleged.

    Chadha alleged the BJP was planning ‘Operation Lotus 2.0’ in Delhi and the AAP MLAs were being “threatened with ED and CBI cases” if they don’t join the saffron party.

    “The BJP wants to topple the AAP government in Delhi under the garb of a no-confidence motion and our legislators are being sent offers by the BJP high command,” he charged.

    The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member-strong Delhi Assembly and the BJP has eight. Yet, its leaders think they will be able to snatch power by buying out MLAs, Chadha said.

    Bidhuri, however, claimed even after having 62 seats, Arvind Kejriwal is not confident about his MLAs.

    “This is because Kejriwal has been the mastermind of all the scams in the Delhi government. The heat of the probes into corruption cases will reach Kejriwal soon and he will also go to jail because he has always been involved in all the corruption,” the BJP leader alleged.

    He said the BJP was bringing a no-confidence motion in the assembly because the “people of Delhi have lost their confidence in the AAP government due to its scams”.

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    #AAP #leaders #making #baseless #allegations #frustration #claims #BJP

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Police Officer Attached Amid Allegations of ‘Professional Misconduct’

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    Srinagar, Mar 9 (GNS): Director General of Police has “attached”, till further orders, a police officer after ‘some allegations of professional misconduct’ against him.

    “In view of some allegations of professional misconduct, Adil Mushtaq DySP KPS-155772 (SDPO Nowgam)  is hereby attached with the office of Special DG Crime, J&K till further orders,” reads an order by DGP, a copy of which lies with GNS.

    “Sumit Kumar Sharma, KPS-185679, DySP PC Srinagar in addition to his own shall look after the assignment of SDPO Nowgam,” the order added. (GNS)

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    #Police #Officer #Attached #Allegations #Professional #Misconduct

    ( With inputs from : thegnskashmir.com )

  • Police Officer Attached Amid Allegations of Professional Misconduct

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    SRINAGAR: Director General of Police has “attached”, till further orders, a police officer after ‘some allegations of professional misconduct’ against him.

    “In view of some allegations of professional misconduct, Adil Mushtaq DySP KPS-155772 (SDPO Nowgam)  is hereby attached with the office of Special DG Crime, JK till further orders,” reads an order by DGP.

    “Sumit Kumar Sharma, KPS-185679, DySP PC Srinagar in addition to his own shall look after the assignment of SDPO Nowgam,” the order added.  (GNS)

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    #Police #Officer #Attached #Allegations #Professional #Misconduct

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • Bihar police leaves for Tamil Nadu to look into allegations of migrant attack

    Bihar police leaves for Tamil Nadu to look into allegations of migrant attack

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    Patna: A four-member team of officials from Bihar on Saturday left for Tamil Nadu to look into allegations of attacks on migrant workers which have been denied by the southern state.

    Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, replying to queries from journalists here, said the decision to send the team was taken after deliberations that took place over a couple of days.

    “I first read about the matter in newspapers the day before yesterday and asked officials here to get in touch with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu. Yesterday they said that it would be good if we send a team to that state to get first-hand information. Orders were issued accordingly”, he said.

    According to a statement issued by the Police Headquarters, the team comprises D Balamurugan, the Secretary for Rural Development, P Kannan, the Inspector General of Police (CID), Alok Kumar, the Labour Commissioner, and Santosh Kumar, SP, Special Task Force.

    According to the statement, the team will meet the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police and other top officials of Tamil Nadu besides visiting Tiruppur district from where reports of attacks on Bihari migrants have surfaced.

    Notably, two members of the team, D Balamurugan and P Kannan, hail from Tamil Nadu and according to sources in the state government they have been chosen so that “internal feedback” could be obtained, without facing problems of language.

    The Police Headquarters also released helpline numbers issued by the Tamil Nadu police, though the DGP of the southern state had recently issued a statement asserting that reports in a section of the media about attacks on migrants were “misleading and mischievous”.

    Nonetheless, returnees from the southern state are sharing their woes with journalists at railway stations, saying though they have come back for Holi festivities, they would not like to go back to work if the situation did not improve.

    “I work as a carpenter. My earnings barely suffice to keep my body and soul together. The environment in Tamil Nadu has made the matters worse. I would not like to go back unless there is an improvement in the situation”, said Vinod, who hails from Motihari.

    Similar sentiments were expressed by Vishal and Vivek, both from Muzaffarpur, who alleged “we always face insults and, of late, even physical assaults are taking place. We hope that we get some work on our home soil. Who would like to go far away and face humiliations?.

    Bhojpuri singer Neha Singh Rathore, who was recently in news for being slapped with a notice by the Uttar Pradesh police for a satirical number of hers that was critical of the Yogi Adityanath government, expressed solidarity with migrants upon returning to her home state.

    “I am just back from Delhi. I have replied to the notice which, my lawyers say, is illegal. I also met retired Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju who held the same view. As far as migrants are concerned, I feel I am one of them”, Rathore told reporters at the Patna airport.

    “Many of my close relatives are eking out a living in far-off places like Delhi. They are not big officials. Some of them work as security guards. Some are even selling vegetables or picking up garbage. They all suffer the same travail”, said the Bhabhua-born singer who also came up with an impromptu song that sought to give voice to the plight of Bhojpuri-speaking migrants.



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    #Bihar #police #leaves #Tamil #Nadu #allegations #migrant #attack

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Report probing WFI chief’s sexual harassment allegations to be submitted by March 9

    Report probing WFI chief’s sexual harassment allegations to be submitted by March 9

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    New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has extended by two weeks the deadline given to the Oversight Committee to submit its report on sexual harassment allegations against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

    The Committee, led by legendary boxer MC Mary Kom, was formed on January 23 to investigate into the claims made by country’s top wrestlers that Brij Bhushan has sexually harassed several women wrestlers and intimidates the athletes.

    The wrestlers had not provided the names of the ‘victims’.

    The committee, which is running the day-to-day functioning of the sports body, was asked to submits its report in four weeks.

    The ministry extended the deadline following requests from the committee members and now it will submit its report by March 9.

    “The Sports Ministry has given a two-week extension to the Oversight Committee for the submission of its report, following a request,” a ministry source told PTI.

    The sports ministry was forced to form the panel after top Indian wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya and Sakshi Malik, staged a sit-in protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding that Brij Bhushan be removed from the top post and WFI be disbanned.

    The BJP MP was asked to step aside till the completion of the probe into his alleged misconduct.

    The Mary Kom-led committee has former wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former shuttler Trupti Murgunde, SAI member Radhica Sreeman and Rajesh Rajagopalan, ex-CEO, Target Olympic Podium Scheme and CWG gold medallist Babita Phogat as its members.

    Since the formation of the committee, the top Indian wrestlers have not competed at the international meets, missing the UWW Ranking Series events in Zagreb and Alexandria.

    UWW, the world governing body of the sport, has reportedly taken away the hosting rights of the Asian Championship from India, citing a complaint from the top wrestlers.

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    #Report #probing #WFI #chiefs #sexual #harassment #allegations #submitted #March

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Giriraj challenges Rahul to a debate on MGNREGA, dismisses his ‘wild allegations’

    Giriraj challenges Rahul to a debate on MGNREGA, dismisses his ‘wild allegations’

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    New Delhi: Dismissing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s charges related to MGNREGA, Union minister Giriraj Singh said on Saturday that both allocations for the scheme and asset creations under it during the Narendra Modi government were more than the previous UPA dispensation.

    Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Saras Mela in Noida, Singh took strong exception to Gandhi’s Facebook post alleging a reduction in MGNREGA budget and said the Congress leader should get his facts and figures right before making such “wild allegations”.

    He also challenged Gandhi to a debate on the rural job scheme.

    The Union rural development minister said that in the 10 years of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the budget estimate (BE) for MGNREGA never exceeded Rs 33,000 crore and in most of the fiscals, part of the allocated funds got surrendered due to poor implementation of the scheme.

    Whereas, under the Narendra Modi government, the revised estimate (RE) for the scheme exceeded the budget estimate every year, he said.

    This year also the BE of Rs 73,000 crore has already touched the figure of Rs 89,400 crore in RE as the Rural Development Ministry received Rs 16,000 crore out of Rs 25,000 crore demanded due to accumulation of state dues.

    According to a statement from the ministry, in 2019-20 the BE was Rs 60,000 crore and the RE went up to Rs 71,000 crore. In 2020-21 the BE of Rs 61,500 crore went up to a whopping Rs 1,11,500 crore due to the reverse migration of rural population amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased demand for work.

    Similarly, in the financial year 2021-2022, the BE of Rs 73,000 crore touched Rs 99,117 crore in RE.

    Singh also challenged Gandhi to check the asset creation under the rural job scheme during the UPA rule which, he said, was merely 17 per cent. Whereas, in the last nine years, the asset creation has already crossed 60 per cent.

    He gave full credit to the prime minister for reorienting MGNREGA and its mandate from merely digging and filling holes.

    On Friday, Congress leader Gandhi slammed the BJP-led government for reducing the MGNREGA budget and alleged that the scheme, which was the foundation of India’s rural economy, was becoming a victim of the Centre’s repressive policies.

    He also accused the government of misusing Aadhaar against the poor sections of the society by linking it to the scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

    “MGNREGA is the foundation of India’s rural economy. A revolutionary policy that has supported countless families. The MGNREGA scheme, which is running the homes of crores of families, is becoming a victim of the repressive policies of the Centre,” Gandhi said in a Facebook post in Hindi while citing a news report.

    Singh said the aim behind linking Aadhaar to MGNREGA is to bring full transparency in the implementation of the scheme.

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    #Giriraj #challenges #Rahul #debate #MGNREGA #dismisses #wild #allegations

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Adani row: Jairam Ramesh urges RBI, SEBI to probe allegations

    Adani row: Jairam Ramesh urges RBI, SEBI to probe allegations

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    New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and sought an investigation into allegations of financial irregularities and stock manipulation against the Adani Group.

    In his letter to Das posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Ramesh urged the RBI to ensure that “excessive debt exposure” by the Adani Group currently and in the future does not destabilise India’s banking system.

    “The Adani Group has been described as ‘deeply over-leveraged’ – if the Adani Group has artificially inflated the value of its stock through manipulation by offshore shell companies and raised funds by pledging those overvalued shares, the recent sell off in stock prices is creating vulnerabilities for the Adani Group to find financing, and by implication for India’s banking system,” the Congress MP said in his letter dated February 14.

    Ramesh called on the RBI to look into two aspects what is the true Adani Group exposure of the Indian banking system and what are the explicit and implicit guarantees that the Adani Group has been given that it will be bailed out by Indian banks if foreign funding dries up.

    “Will the RBI ensure that Indian banks are not forced to step in to substitute for any shortfall in foreign financing, especially given the Adani Group’s political connections,” Ramesh asked.

    Public sector financial institutions like the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the State Bank of India have been “unusually generous” to the Adani Group in recent years, the Congress leader alleged.

    The RBI must ensure that risks to financial stability are investigated and contained, he said in his letter.

    The risks of contagion from any collapse in the Adani Group’s ability to secure financing must be monitored constantly, Ramesh argued.

    “As the steward of the financial system, the RBI must do everything possible to protect India’s banks and financial institutions, and we urge you to act in the national interest to ensure that India’s taxpayers do not pay the price for the ‘misgovernance’ and potential ‘illegalities’ of one influential business house,” he wrote to Das.

    Ramesh also posted his letter to SEBI chief Buch on Twitter saying, many Indian citizens were disturbed by the allegations that the Adani Group has indulged in “brazen stock manipulation” and “accounting fraud” via a “vast labyrinth of offshore shell entities”.

    “Apart from the potential violation of several Indian laws, this goes against everything that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SBI) stands for. We urge you to investigate all potential violations and to ensure complete transparency about who is investing in Adani Group companies,” Ramesh said.

    “Given the Adani Group’s size and political connections, it is incumbent that such investigations are seen as fair and complete, with no favour shown to the influential business group,” the Congress general secretary stressed.

    Any failure to do so will cast a shadow on Indian corporate governance and on India’s financial regulators, and could affect our ability to raise funds globally, he argued.

    In his letter, Ramesh asked why financial institutions of national importance such as the Life Insurance Corporation of India (IIC) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have “heavily bought” Adani Group equity when most private funds have been severely underweight because of concerns over corporate governance and indebtedness.

    “LIC, which 30 crore Indians trust with their life savings, has lost thousands of crores in Adani Group stock in recent days. Should we not ensure that such public sector financial institutions are more conservative in their investments than their private sector counterparts and free from pressure from above?” Ramesh said.

    The inclusion of Adani Enterprises in the widely used National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 index in September 2022 occurred despite the firm’s weak fundamentals, an excessive price-to-earnings ratio and a tiny free float, he alleged.

    He further claimed that adding Adani Enterprises compelled supposedly conservative Nifty index funds to make significant purchases of this risky stock, including the Employees Provident Fund Organisation, India’s largest pension fund.

    “In recent days, global stock indices have suspended Adani Group companies while the matter is investigated, but the NSE has failed to take any similar action to protect investors,” Ramesh said.

    Is it not SEBI’s responsibility to ensure that index investors are protected from investing in questionable firms, he asked.

    “We urge SEBI to play its role as the steward of India’s financial markets on behalf of the crores of Indians who have faith in the fairness of India’s financial markets,” the Congress leader said.

    Ramesh shared the letters on Twitter and said that he has expressed the hope that a “full-fledged independent investigation will be carried on the numerous allegations against the ‘PM-blessed’ Adani Group”.

    The Congress has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against the Adani Group by US-based short-seller Hindenburg.

    The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as baseless.



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    #Adani #row #Jairam #Ramesh #urges #RBI #SEBI #probe #allegations

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )