Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ke senior employees ne Thursday ko Mumbai mein regulator ke headquarters par protest kiya, demanding Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch ka resignation aur SEBI ke ek public statement ka withdrawal. Protest ke dauran Buch par pressure badh gaya, jab se unke khilaf allegations samne aaye, starting with US-based Hindenburg Research ka ilzaam jo unhe Adani Group ke probe ko handle karte waqt conflict of interest ka doshi bata raha hai.
Iss hafte ke shuruaat mein, opposition Congress ne ye bhi ilzaam lagaya ki Buch ne apne purane employer ICICI Bank se Rs 16.8 crore ki salary aur benefits receive kiye, jo unke 2014 retirement ke baad aur SEBI ke whole-time director ke taur par 2017 mein join karne ke baad bhi continue hue. Lekin ICICI ne in allegations ko deny kiya hai.
Thursday ko SEBI ke Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) headquarters par 200 employees ka protest 2 ghante tak chala, jisme Buch ke immediate resignation ki maang uthai gayi. Reports ke mutabiq, employees SEBI ke Wednesday statement se naraaz the, jo unke pehle ke letters ko disgruntled elements ya external forces ke influence kehte hue dismiss kar raha tha.
Kuch media reports ne SEBI ke internal messages ko cite karte hue bataya ki protest ka maqsad “top management ke arm twisting ke khilaf dissent aur unity dikhana” tha. Unhone press release ko withdraw karne aur Buch ke resignation ki maang ki.
Yeh protest un reports ke baad aya jab SEBI ke 1000 employees me se kareeb 500 employees ne Finance Ministry ko letters likhkar Chairperson ke against action lene ki appeal ki thi. Employees ne Buch aur senior officers ko toxic work culture banane ka doshi kaha hai.
Lekin, SEBI ne in allegations ko Wednesday ko ek statement ke zariye deny kiya, toxic work culture ke ilzaam ko “misplaced” kehkar kharij kar diya. Unhone kaha ki koi bhi employee association ne in allegations ko support nahi kiya.
SEBI ne apne statement me kaha,
“Hamara vishwas hai ki SEBI ke junior officers, jo pehle house rent allowance (HRA) 55 percent ko lekar naraaz the, shayad external elements dwara misguided hain, unhe yeh samajhne par majboor kiya gaya hai ki ek regulator ke employees hone ke naate unhe high standards of performance aur accountability ke liye held nahi kiya jana chahiye.”
SEBI ne employees ke underpaid hone ke ilzaam par bhi jawab diya, kaha “Hamara officers achhi salary le rahe hain, aur Grade A ke entry-level officers ka cost to company (CTC) Rs 34 lakh per annum hai, jo corporate sector ke saath bhi favorable compare karta hai. Unke naye demands se CTC mein Rs 6 lakh per annum ka additional increase ho sakta hai.”
Pichhle mahine, SEBI officials ne grades A-C ke liye head office par 15-minute ka silent protest bhi kiya tha, jo multiple grievances, including recently launched digital management information system (MIS) aur key result areas (KRAs) ko lekar tha.
