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23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Fasting Fury

Manoj Jarange-Patil’s retreat from Mumbai after weeks of hunger-strike brinkmanship offers a moment for citizens to question the politics of coercion and perpetual agitation. The activist has given the Maharashtra government three months to consider his demands, thus giving the seemingly never-ending Maratha reservation issue an uneasy pause. Mumbai, which had braced for another prolonged confrontation during the Ganesh festivities, can breathe easy for the moment. But the episode leaves a...

Fasting Fury

Manoj Jarange-Patil’s retreat from Mumbai after weeks of hunger-strike brinkmanship offers a moment for citizens to question the politics of coercion and perpetual agitation. The activist has given the Maharashtra government three months to consider his demands, thus giving the seemingly never-ending Maratha reservation issue an uneasy pause. Mumbai, which had braced for another prolonged confrontation during the Ganesh festivities, can breathe easy for the moment. But the episode leaves a larger question: how long can public policy be held hostage to the theatre of indefinite fasting? For weeks, the prospect of a march on Mumbai by Jarange and his followers had hung over the State. The city’s residents, already negotiating the logistical demands of the Ganesh festivities, faced the possibility of another mass mobilisation disrupting roads and public life. Jarange’s appeal to supporters not to follow his vehicle, and to meet him instead at Khopoli, underscored the uncertainty surrounding the march. He even warned that he might abandon the journey and resume his sit-in at Patoda or return to Antarwali Sarati. Such brinkmanship may keep a movement in the headlines, but it cannot substitute for the patient work of resolving a complex reservation dispute. Maharashtra’s reservation question involves competing claims, constitutional constraints and the interests of communities whose concerns cannot simply be wished away. Jarange insists that the movement has made progress through the discovery of 58 lakh archival records which he claims could help nearly 2.5 crore Marathas access reservation benefits. His immediate demand is an official gazette recognising the relevant records. But numbers announced at a rally are not a substitute for answers to those questions. Reservation issues cannot be administered through rhetorical exchanges between an activist and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. More troubling is Jarange’s allegation that Devendra Fadnavis is plotting against his life. Such a serious charge requires evidence should not be allowed to become another instrument in an already charged confrontation. Jarange’s assertion that his community can bring down governments and install new ones similarly blurs the line between advancing a social demand and invoking electoral power as leverage. His remarks about telling his son to remain courageous should he die perhaps reveal the personal intensity of his commitment to his supporters. But a movement’s legitimacy cannot depend on the prospect of its leader’s death. Nor should supporters be placed in the position of treating physical collapse as proof of political resolve. The three-month window now offered to the government should be used for documented negotiations and legally defensible decisions. While Mumbai’s relief at avoiding another immediate mobilisation is understandable, the more consequential test, is whether Jarange’s pause allows the State to move beyond cycles of ultimatum and move towards a resolution grounded in evidence and fairness to all affected communities.

Lateral upgrade to ailing annihilation

Writer: Mangesh Kulkarni
Mangesh Kulkarni
Sep 9, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Lateral upgrade to ailing annihilation

Being the first person from the private sector to be appointed as chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as part of the government’s lateral initiative, Madhabi Puri Buch also holds the honour of being the first woman to hold the top post as capital market regulator.

But the laurels that the former private sector banker enjoyed in her earlier stint with ICICI Bank, was marred with allegations that she and her husband were having a stake in offshore entities, which were used to artificially inflate shares of Adani group companies.

Terming the allegation as `character assassination, Buch clarified that all disclosures have already been furnished and the fund in question did not invest in any securities involving the Adani group.

When it rains, it pours. This allegation was subsequently followed by Congress Party allegation that Buch had received salary and post-retirement benefits from ICICI Bank after she quit the private sector bank.

In its clarification to the stock exchanges, ICICI Bank asserted that the payments made to Buch were purely retirement benefits after her exit from the bank and they were neither salary nor employee stock options.

Prior to these allegations, Buch tenure at SEBI was all about bringing in quick reforms on operational issues by changing the format of consultation paper to bring in larger responses digitally. Being data savvy, the rationale of her decisions were democratic based on big data analysis derived from the responses received to the consultation papers.

Further she bifurcated the duties of the SEBI staff between operations and enforcement, which were done by the same persons earlier. Having worked for the private sector in the capital market domain space, Buch had a better understanding of the subject compared to officers from the administrative service in the past that reflected even in her orders as a whole-time director at SEBI before becoming the chairperson. As a whole time director at SEBI, her orders on adjudication issues were more directional to the capital market space, according to experts in the compliance space. She was also quick to revamp the old provisions of the 90s at SEBI.

Being tech and data savvy, Buch enhanced regulatory surveillance and detection of market manipulation, insider trading and fraud while also emphasizing on strengthening corporate governance by introducing stricter rules for independent directors and enhancing disclosures for related-party transactions.

To put in perspective, the annual report of the capital market regulator in the just concluded financial year revealed that the number of investigations related to insider trading jumped to 175 in 2023-24 from 85 in the preceding year while probes related to front running jumped over three times to 83 from 24 in the preceding year.

Transparency in mutual funds by implementing measures to protect retail investors along with tightening norms for initial public offers, particularly in the SME platforms were some of her other positive initiatives including confirmation of denial of any market rumours within 24 hours for the top 100 listed companies which will be extended to top 250 companies from December 1. However increased transparency and compliance with tightening regulations led to increased operational costs for the market participants and hence faced resistance from certain quarters. Born in 1966, Buch completed her primary education in Mumbai and graduated with specialization in Mathematics from Delhi and later obtained a management degree from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. In between, she got engaged to Dhawal Buch, a director at a consumer goods multinational at the age of eighteen and got married at the age of 21.

Besides ICICI Bank, Buch also worked as a lecturer at a college in England, worked at Greater Pacific Capital in Singapore and ICICI Securities as its CEO. She also worked as executive director on several private sector companies and as a consultant for New Development Bank (Brics Bank).

What now remains to be seen, is whether Buch, who survived the 26/11 terror attack when she along with her husband, was attending a meeting at Taj, be able to overcome the current ordeal. Keeping fingers crossed for the times to come.

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