Rahul demands JPC probe in alleged stocks crash 'scam' around exit polls

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of being “directly involved” in what he termed as the “largest stock market scam”.

- VINAY KUMAR

• BJP RUBBISHES CHARGE

He claimed that retail investors suffered a loss of Rs 30 lakh crore due to the market crash following the Lok Sabha poll result. However, the BJP refuted his allegations as “unfounded”.

In response to Gandhi’s accusations, the BJP counter-accused him of attempting to frighten both domestic and foreign investors. The party stated that the stock market experienced a downturn when the Congress appeared to be gaining seats on the day of the poll result on June 4. However, it has started to recover as the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to secure a third consecutive term.

During a press conference, Gandhi called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the alleged “scam”. He demanded an inquiry into the supposed involvement of the prime minister, home minister, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, alleging that they had recommended retail investors to purchase stock prior to the result, which he described as “unprecedented”.

Gandhi further claimed that Prime Minister Modi and Shah were aware of the number of seats the BJP was winning. However, they “artificially” inflated the stock prices with the assistance of “fraudulent” and “fictitious” exit polls. He alleged that when the actual result was announced on June 4, the markets plummeted, resulting in substantial losses for retail investors.

“The ordinary citizens of India lost Rs 30 lakh crore in the stock market on June 4...We demand a JPC investigation into this largest-ever stock market scam,” stated the former Congress chief.

He described this as a criminal act and demanded a JPC to investigate the involvement of the prime minister, home minister, and finance minister, and to identify the individuals who profited from this ‘scam’. He referred to those responsible for the exit polls.