Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said facts should be taken into account in the context of the controversy surrounding Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch.
Speaking at a News18 event, the finance minister said Buch and her husband have responded to a slew of allegations made by the Congress party and both of them have put forward the facts.
“A lot of the allegations are being answered by her and her husband. They are defending themselves and presenting facts that contradict what the Congress is saying. So the facts will have to be taken into consideration,” Sitharaman said.
On September 13, the Buchs refuted the main opposition party’s allegations in a six-page letter. It was their second detailed response since short-seller Hindenburg first leveled allegations of conflicts of interest in early August.
Madhabi and her husband Dhaval Buch have rejected allegations of conflict of interest, corruption and lack of transparency, particularly in relation to the revenue generated by her former employer, the ICICI Group, and other business entities through their consultancy firm Agora Advisory.
When asked what she thought of the Buchs’ response to the allegations, Sitharaman said: “I am not here to judge (their responses).”
Talking about the gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures for the first quarter, the finance minister said that government expenditure, which was muted in the April-June quarter of FY25 due to the elections, will pick up in the subsequent quarters and trigger growth in the country. On maintaining the fiscal deficit target of 4.5 per cent of GDP in FY26, the finance minister said, “I am confident and hopeful of staying within the target.”
She said the new tax regime was introduced to simplify compliance and therefore exemptions were removed. More than 78 percent of people have moved from the old to the new tax regime, she said, adding: “We are looking at different ways in which the middle class gets benefits.”
Sitharaman stressed that it was important to take care of small traders and retailers as their businesses are being hit by “predatory pricing and deep pockets”. “We will have to think seriously about it. The commerce minister is working on the matter,” she added.
The finance minister also said that each state and the Centre need to understand what their budgets can handle in terms of development plans and freebies before making announcements. “They announce plans and freebies and then struggle with implementation because they don’t have resources. Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh are examples of this,” she added.
First publication: Sep 16, 2024 | 8:34 PM IST