Himanta Sarma’s ‘Sensex’ counter to Rahul Gandhi’s stock market scam charge

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, without naming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took a jibe at him over his recent statement on an alleged stock market “scam” amid the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Sarma pointed out that Sensex surged to an all-time high on Friday, just days after it crashed by nearly six percent. Posting on X, Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, “Sensex surges to an all-time high. Should we order an enquiry by a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine why it has reached this level today?”

His remarks come day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman were part of a massive stock market “scam”, where investors ended up losing ₹31 lakh crore in a single day.

Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, after the results of the Lok Sabha election were released, Rahul Gandhi demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) investigation on the alleged scam.

“Why did the PM and Union Home Minister give specific investment advice to the five crore families investing in the stock market? Is it their job to give investment advice? Why were both interviews given to the same media owned by the same business group which is also under SEBI investigation for manipulating stock?” Gandhi said at a press briefing.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to hit back at Congress and Gandhi over their claims, saying that they have “not yet overcome” from the loss in the 2024 general elections.

BJP MP elect Piyush Goyal said, “Rahul Gandhi has still not overcome the loss in the Lok Sabha Elections. Now, he is conspiring to mislead the market investors. Today, India has become the fifth-largest economy.”

“In the last 10 years of Modi Govt, for the first time our market cap has crossed over 5 trillion dollars. Today, India’s equity market has entered the market cap of the top 5 economies of the world…We know that the market cap of PSUs listed in the market has increased 4 times under the Modi Govt,” the BJP leader said.