This was his first public comment on the allegations against Butch.
India's main opposition party is also demanding Buch's resignation.
Although Buch, the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, has denied all allegations, she is facing criticism from US short seller Hindenburg Research and Indian opposition parties over alleged conflict of interest in investigations related to the Adani Group and other corporate entities.
“Many allegations are being responded to by her and her husband. They are together defending themselves and presenting facts to refute the allegations being made by the Congress party,” Reuters reported, citing Sitharaman's interview to the channel.
“So I think the facts have to be considered,” Sitharaman said, adding that she would not prejudge Buch's reply. The Congress party has alleged that Buch had a conflict of interest in dealings between ICICI Bank (where she worked till 2011) – Mahindra Group and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories among others. All three companies, Buch and her husband have denied the allegations.
Congress leader Pawan Khera had accused the SEBI chief of conflict of interest and corruption in several press conferences. The Congress has demanded an independent investigation into the allegations, and stressed that protecting the integrity of India's stock markets is in the national interest. The party expressed concern that this situation could undermine the confidence of foreign investors in India's financial system. The Congress had stressed that SEBI, as a regulatory authority, must be free from any suspicion of irregularities to maintain the confidence of millions of investors.
Furthermore, Sitharaman said that the Indian government should consider supporting small traders affected by the predatory pricing practices of large companies.
An Indian anti-competition investigation found that US e-commerce giants Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preferential treatment to select sellers on their shopping websites, according to a report seen by Reuters.
Last month, India's commerce minister publicly criticised Amazon, saying its investments were often used to cover its business losses.
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