'Rahul Gandhi is conspiring to mislead investors': Piyush Goyal rejects 'market scam' charge

Hours after Rahul Gandhi demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe into the surge in the market following the exit poll and then crash the next day, BJP's Piyush Goyal hit back at the former Congress chief saying Gandhi had still not overcome the loss in the Lok Sabha elections and that he was "conspiring to mislead the market investors".

Earlier this evening, Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were "directly involved" in what he described as the "biggest stock market scam" in which retail investors lost Rs 30 lakh crore. The Congress leader was referring to the market crash on the day results were announced. A day before this, the market had surged following exit poll results that had predicted a bumper majority for the BJP.  

Piyush Goyal rejected Gandhi's claim, saying the market has recovered and the retail investors have made money. "When the UPA government was in power 10 years ago, India's market cap at that time was Rs 67 lakh crore. Today the market cap has increased to Rs 415 lakh crore," he said. 

"The holding of foreigners at the time of UPA was 21% and it has reduced to 16% today, that is, the investment of foreigners has reduced and the ownership of Indian investors in the Indian stock market has increased from 79% to 84% today," Goyal said. 

"The size of the mutual fund industry was only Rs 10 lakh crore in 2014, today it has increased more than 5 times to Rs 56 lakh crore. Through mutual funds, Indian investors especially small investors are taking advantage of this growing market today and these small retail investors have ensured that India's ownership today has instantly become more than the ownership of institutional investors."

Goyal also said while responding to a question that all reforms will continue in the NDA 3.0. "The country is poised for a bright future ahead. We are delighted that our allies are equally progressive," he said in an apparent reference to pro-reform TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.

"They support reform, they support what is good for the people of India. They understand that the ten years of the Modi government have taken the country to newer heights and have the confidence that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's able leadership."

The big vision with which he has taken the country to today's position of being the world's fastest-growing large economy, they are confident that under his leadership, this country will continue to do better and better and become the world's third-largest economy while continuing the growth that we are witnessing in the last few years."

Addressing a press conference, Rahul Gandhi today said stock markets rose after "fake" exit polls and then crashed the day Lok Sabha polls votes were counted on June 4. Retail investors lost Rs 30 lakh crore and this is the "biggest stock market scam", Gandhi said.

"For the first time we noted that during polls, Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commented on the stock market," he said. "Why did the prime minister and home minister give investment advice to people, Gandhi asked and alleged that BJP leaders had information that exit polls were wrong. "We want JPC probe into the biggest stock market scam." 

People higher up in the BJP carried out this stock market scam and Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah were directly involved, the Congress leader alleged.