Vikrant Shekhawat : Sep 06, 2024, 01:20 PM
Madhabi Puri Buch: On September 5, employees of the Mumbai-based Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) protested outside the headquarters, demanding the resignation of SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch. Employees described the office environment under Buch's leadership as stressful and unprofessional, alleging that Buch scolds and humiliates them publicly in meetings.The letter sent by the employees to the Finance Ministry also alleged that SEBI officials are assigned unfair and excessive tasks and their activities are strictly monitored, which is having a negative impact on their mental health.SEBI rejected these allegations and said that the issues of the employees have been discussed and said that they were misled by external forces.The special thing about this protest is that this has happened for the first time in the history of SEBI. The employees have demanded the government's intervention in this matter so that a professional environment can be restored and their mental health can be ensured.These allegations are against BuchMore than half of SEBI employees, in a letter written to the Finance Ministry on August 6, said that the office environment of SEBI has become tense and employees are being treated inappropriately. It said that abusive and unprofessional language is used during meetings under the leadership of Madhabi Puri Buch. Employees say that this behavior is having a negative impact on their mental health and affecting their work life balance.The letter also alleged that SEBI officials are given unreal tasks and their "minute-by-minute" activities are monitored. Employees said that they are monitored throughout the day through turnstile gates, which track their activities. This has created more stress in their working environment.SEBI rejected the allegationsSEBI has rejected these allegations of the employees and said that the complaints of bad office environment and public humiliation are false. SEBI said in its statement that it has discussed all the issues with the employees and taken steps to resolve them. At the same time, SEBI talked about misleading the employees by external forces, which has further increased the resentment of the employees.The SEBI spokesperson also said that the turnstile gates recently installed in the office will be reviewed after six months, when feedback will be taken from the employees. At present, the turnstile gates will not be removed from the SEBI office.Buch is already surrounded in this matterThe timing of this letter and protest has special significance because SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch is facing allegations of conflict of interest during the recent investigation of Adani Group. The opposition has also raised questions on the compensation related to Buch's previous company ICICI Bank. A few days ago, Hindenburg also made serious allegations against SEBI Chief Buch regarding Adani related matters. The research agency had said in its report that Buch, along with her husband, has invested money in overseas funds. Which was used by the Adani Group to move around.Hindenburg alleged that Madhabi Puri Buch proposed, approved, and provided facilities to change REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) rules to benefit Blackstone. It was also reported that Madhabi's husband Dhawal Buch was working as a consultant at Blackstone. However, Madhabi Puri Buch has completely rejected these allegations.Protest happening for the first time in the history of SEBIThis is the first time in the history of SEBI that such protests have come to the fore. More than 500 out of about 1,000 officers have signed a letter to the Finance Ministry, which makes it clear that there is dissatisfaction in a large part of SEBI. Employees say that they wrote a letter to the government when their complaints were not paid any attention to by the SEBI management.What are the demands of the employees?SEBI officials have demanded the government to intervene in this matter so that the professional environment in the SEBI office can be restored and the mental health of the employees can be protected. The employees have titled their letter 'Complaints of SEBI officials - Call for respect', which indicates that they are expecting better leadership and management.