Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Thursday skipped the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) questioning and said she would not be able to attend it due to “personal exigencies”.

The crucial meeting of the Parliamentary panel was adjourned just hours before it was scheduled to start.

PAC chairman K C Venugopal said the committee decided to postpone Thursday’s meeting after a communication from SEBI expressing Buch’s inability to attend the meeting. Venugopal also said that Buch had earlier sought an exception from appearing before the PAC, but was denied, Indian Express reported.

Also Read: Congress claims SEBI Chief Madhabi Buch profited from M&M, ICICI, Dr Reddy, and more through Agora Advisory

“The SEBI chairperson had sought an exception from appearing before the committee which we denied. After that, she has confirmed her and her officials’ presence in the committee. But today morning, at 9.30 am, we got a communication from the SEBI chairperson and other members that because of a personal exigency, she is not able to travel to Delhi. Considering it a request from a woman officer, we thought it would be better to postpone today’s meeting to another day,” Venugopal told reporters outside Parliament House Annexe.

According to IE sources, it is learnt that SEBI had earlier written to the committee asking if the regulatory body could be represented by officials and whether it was necessary for the chairperson to be present. The panel, however, insisted that the chairperson should attend the meeting.

The PAC had summoned Madhabi Buch on Thursday for a review and functioning of SEBI amid allegations of conflict of interest levelled by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, a charge she has vehemently denied. She also faced accusations of holding an office of profit at ICICI, a charge firmly rejected by the bank.

Also Read: SEBI says details of instances when Madhabi Buch recused on conflict of interest not ‘readily available’

The Congress had earlier sought her removal over these allegations.

Congress vs BJP

After PAC, chaired by KC Venugopal, summoned Buch to appear before the panel, several ruling BJPs MPs sought Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s intervention. The BJP leaders claimed that the PAC’s move to announce an inquiry against SEBI is in violation of its rules.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey argued that, according to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the “sole function of the PAC is limited to scrutinizing the Appropriation Accounts of the Government of India and the CAG reports.”