All India Congress Committee general secretary and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday reiterated the party’s demand for a JPC probe into the alleged scam involving the SEBI Chairman and the Adani Group.

“We demand that as per the report, the scam worth thousands of crores should be investigated by the JPC, and the SEBI Chairman should resign till the investigation is completed,” he said.

He questioned why the BJP is afraid of the JPC investigation and why it is avoiding the investigation when it has the highest number of MPs and the Chairman of the JPC will be from the BJP.

Addressing a press conference here along with UP Congress president Ajay Rai, the Congress general secretary said that the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance and asked the central government to investigate the charges.

“Now the question is, what will be the fairness and quality of the investigation from a person who is a suspect in this case? It is being discussed nationwide and globally that the SEBI Chairman’s husband is doing business with someone the SEBI Chairman himself is suspected of being involved with. In such a situation, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and all the members of the INDI Alliance have demanded a JPC probe to unravel the truth,” he said.

Sachin Pilot said that the Supreme Court has indicated the need for a factual investigation, but despite this, central government is maintaining silence. “This collusive game has been going on for the last 10 years, and if such serious allegations have been levelled against an institution that monitors the country’s investment, it should be investigated by a JPC,” he demanded.

He alleged, “The Prime Minister and the central government speak about transparency but ignore what has been happening over the past 10 years. Their focus is only on defaming the Congress party, opposition parties, and Nehru ji. The country’s ports and airports were sold to their people at throwaway prices. The Prime Minister, who speaks of honesty, is only engaged in targeting opposition members, seizing the accounts of the Congress Party, sending the Chief Minister to jail, and defaming opposition parties through the central government, ED, CBI, and police administration”.

Sachin Pilot said that the public decided to change the country in the Lok Sabha elections. “People no longer support politics of pressure and exploitation. Ever since Rahul Gandhi became the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the government has been forced to make continuous U-turns on various decisions, such as the creation of IAS through lateral entry and the Waqf Board issue. This is the same central government that introduced black agricultural laws, which led to the loss of hundreds of farmers’ lives in protest and were eventually withdrawn.”

“We will put pressure on the government both inside and outside Parliament. The Chairman of SEBI will have to resign because there are very serious allegations that cannot be denied. It is SEBI’s responsibility to monitor the crores of investors who have suffered losses. A JPC investigation is necessary to reveal the truth to the country,” the Congress leader stated.

“Today, various organisations have called for a bandh across the country. Tribals, Dalits, backward classes, farmers, and youth all feel that their interests are not safe under the NDA central government. Dalits, backward classes, and the exploited have been particularly affected. Despite receiving a massive majority, they have tampered with the Constitution and attempted to alter reservation. Efforts have been made to make direct recruitment of IAS officers and reconsider constitutional provisions. In such a situation, the tribals and Dalits do not have any hope of protecting their interests while this government is in power. Only a few BJP people are taking advantage of this situation,” he alleged.

Sachin Pilot said that elections are to be held in four states but the party that talks about one nation and one election is conducting elections in only two states and they want elections at their convenience even though the Election Commission conducts the elections. The BJP will lose elections in all four states and Congress and INDI Alliance will form government in all four states, he claimed.

He said that the public is having to bear the brunt of the internal tussle in the BJP, whether in the government, organisation, Lucknow or Delhi. By-elections are to be held on 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh and INDI alliance will win all the seats.

In response to a question, he said that the incident of rape is shameful for any civilised society and should be condemned. Action should be taken regardless of the class, party, or religion of the accused. Strict action should be enforced no matter which state it occurs in.