Rahul Gandhi, one of the many heads of the Indian opposition, has called for an inquiry into the stock market meltdown that stunned investors just before the general election.
Leading political figures in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were accused by him of making false projections of a sharp increase in stock prices following the results announcement on June 4.
Congressman Mr. Gandhi asserted that prior to this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to purchase stocks, which had resulted in their losing money during the market meltdown.
The BJP has refuted the claims.
A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the purported scandal and the involvement of Mr. Modi and senior ministers has been urged by Mr. Gandhi.
He said that the former Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former Home Minister Amit Shah, and Mr. Modi had advised individuals to “buy stocks before 4 June” in the weeks leading up to the election, speculating that the market would rise in anticipation of a BJP victory.
“Stock market crashes should not be linked with elections, but even if such a rumour has been spread, I suggest that you buy (shares) before 4 June,” Mr. Shah stated in an interview.
Claiming that the manipulation benefited certain “dubious foreign investors” and cost Indians trillions of rupees in losses, Mr. Gandhi has dubbed it “the biggest scam” in the history of the Indian stock market.
Piyush Goyal, Mr. Modi’s outgoing trade minister, has denied the claims and charged Mr. Gandhi with deceiving investors.
According to exit polls, the BJP was expected to easily secure a majority, capturing over 272 seats in the 543-member parliament; when combined with its alliance partners, this figure was expected to reach 360–370.
