Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Central government of making the rich richer and pushing ordinary investors to the brink of ruin by being silent on “manipulation” by big players in the futures and options (F&O) market. Gandhi said he had predicted the loopholes in the F&O market. “I clearly said in 2024 — the F&O market has become a playground for ‘big players’, and small investors’ pockets are continuously being drained,” he said. “Now SEBI itself is admitting that Jane Street manipulated thousands of crores. Why did SEBI remain silent for so long? At whose behest was the Modi government sitting with its eyes closed? And how many more big sharks are still shorting retail investors? In every case, it’s clear — the Modi government is making the rich richer and pushing ordinary investors to the brink of ruin,” Gandhi said in a post on X. He tagged a September 24, 2024 post in which he had said: “Uncontrolled F&O trading has grown 45x in 5 years. 90% of small investors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh crore in three years.” “SEBI must reveal the names of the so-called ‘Big Players’ making a killing at their expense,” he said. Reacting to Gandhi’s post, the BJP accused the Congress MP of “peddling fear and misinformation” about the stock market. BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said the very action of SEBI banning a global entity, “which Gandhi is trying to sensationalise", is clear evidence that strong regulatory action is being taken to protect small investors. If SEBI were silent, as Gandhi claims, then there would be no investigation, no ban, and no headline; his entire allegation collapses right there, Malviya said. Congress media and publicity chief Pawan Khera alleged corruption in the market and said SEBI has to answer a lot of questions. On Thursday, SEBI ordered the impounding of `4,843.57 crore in alleged unlawful gains made by Jane Street through manipulative trading. The market regulator also prohibited the firm from engaging in any securities transactions until the recovery of the alleged illegal gains is completed.
