I-T dept raids Mumbai residence of former MD of NSE Chitra Ramkrishna

New Delhi, Feb 17: The Congress on Thursday questioned the prime minister and the finance minister on their silence over the functioning of the National Stock Exchange, soon after the income tax department raided its former managing director.

The department raided the premises of former NSE MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna and group operating officer Anand Subramanian in Mumbai as part of a tax evasion investigation against them, official sources said.

Ramkrishna hit the headlines after a recent Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) order said she was steered by a yogi, dwelling in the Himalayan ranges, in the appointment of Subramanian as the exchange's group operating officer and advisor to the MD.

"On 15th February, the Congress raised the issue of a 'Baba' running the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and a complicit Modi Government-Finance Ministry-Ministry of Corporate Affairs-SFIO-FIU-CBI-ED remaining mum," Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.

"The income tax (department) has woken up belatedly. The finance and corporate ministries remain in denial," he alleged.

The Congress leader also said questions remain as to how a 'Baba' was remotely running the NSE, which has a market capital of Rs 300 lakh crore. "Will the prime minister (Narendra Modi) and the finance minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) tell - Where is the 'Baba'? Why can't his IP address be traced? How do you rule out 'insider trading'? Despite info, what were PM-FM-SEBI doing since 2016," Surjewala asked.

The income tax Department searches are aimed to check and gather evidence on the charges of financial irregularities and alleged tax evasion against the two, the sources said.

The premises of Ramkrishna and Subramanian were raided by officials of the Mumbai investigation wing of the department early morning.

The Sebi charged Ramkrishna and others for alleged governance lapses in the appointment of Subramanian as the chief strategic advisor and his re-designation as group operating officer and advisor to MD. Sebi had levied a fine of Rs 3 crore on Ramkrishna, Rs 2 crore each on the NSE, Subramanian, former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain, and Rs 6 lakh on V R Narasimhan, who was the chief regulatory officer and compliance officer.