Rahul Gandhi Conspiring To Scare Domestic, Foreign Investors: BJP

The BJP on Thursday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of conspiring to scare domestic and foreign investors, asserting that the stock market has begun rising as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is set to return to office for a third consecutive term.

Addressing a press conference after Mr Gandhi alleged a "biggest stock market scam" worth Rs 30 lakh crore and pointed fingers at Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Piyush Goyal claimed that domestic investors in fact made money while the loss was suffered by foreign investors.

The BJP leader also dismissed as baseless Mr Gandhi's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter, saying he keeps making useless comments.

Mr Goyal said the Rs 30 lakh crore figure highlighted by Mr Gandhi was a notional amount and did not pertain to trading.

"He (Gandhi) does not understand. That is why people of India do not trust him," Mr Goyal said, citing the big rise in stock market under the BJP government to assert that retail and domestic investors benefitted the most.

"I think Rahul Gandhi should be concerned about the fear of investors as the market crashed when the Congress was doing better than expected. Now, people are confident that the Modi government is coming back, and the market has stabilised and is reclaiming its previous highs," he said.

The trading value was around Rs 6,840 crore, Mr Goyal said and added that when the Congress was seen gaining in seats on the day of the Lok Sabha poll result on June 4, then it fell.

The minister expressed confidence that the reforms envisioned by the government will continue at a time when the country is poised for a bright future. "We are delighted that our allies are progressive and support reforms," Mr Goyal said.

They know what is good for the people of India and that the Modi government has taken the country to new heights, he added.

Rahul Gandhi said stock markets surged after "fake" exit polls and then crashed the day votes for the Lok Sabha polls were counted on June 4.

"The common people of India lost Rs 30 lakh crore in the stock market on June 4...We demand a JPC investigation into this biggest-ever stock market scam," Mr Gandhi said.

Rebutting the allegations, Mr Goyal said Mr Gandhi was desperate after the opposition alliance failed in its bid for power and Modi is set to start his third term.

He is now hatching a conspiracy to scare domestic and foreign investors from putting their money in India when the prime minister is working to make the country the third largest global economy, Mr Goyal said.

When the exit polls were broadcast, it was foreign investors who bought expensive stocks while domestic investors sold. When the market crashed, it was the other way round, he claimed to assert that domestic investors made money.

It is in the nature of markets to go up and down due to various factors and one has to take a long-term view to see how it has performed, Mr Goyal said, noting that its valuation has crossed USD 5 trillion for the first time.

The market cap has now risen to Rs 415 lakh crore from Rs 67 lakh crore when the Congress-led UPA government demitted office in 2014, he said, adding that the valuation of listed public sector firms has gone up by four times.

The share of domestic investors in the market has gone up to 84 per cent from 79 per cent in 10 years and this shows that they are the ones who have benefitted the most under the BJP-led NDA government, he said.

The size of the mutual fund industry has surged to Rs 56 lakh crore from Rs 10 lakh crore in this period, Mr Goyal added. The Modi government is coming back and investors have trust in India's growth story, he said.

Questioned about the comments of Prime Minister Modi and Shah on the stock market movement, Mr Goyal said every party makes claims about its success and the Congress also did so. 

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