Rahul: Modi silent on F&O manipulation

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Narendra Modi 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, in a post on X, said he had predicted the loopholes in the F&O market.

"I clearly stated in 2024 -- the F&O market has be come a playground for 'big players,' and small inves tors' pockets are continu ously being drained. "Now SEBI itself is admit ting that Jane Street (Group) manipulated thousands of crores. Why did SEBI remain silent for so long?" he asked in his post in Hindi. The Congress leader accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre of turning a blind eye to the revelation and wondered if there were more players rigging the market.

"At whose behest was the Modi government sit ting with its eyes shut? And how many more big sharks are still shorting retail investors?" he said. "In every case, it is clear -- the Modi government is making the rich richer and pushing ordinary investors to the brink of ruin," he alleged. Gandhi tagged his Sep tember 24, 2024, post in which he had stated, "Un controlled F&O trading has grown 45x in five years. Ninety per cent of small in vestors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh crore in three years "SEBI must reveal the names of 'Big Players' , he said. (PTI)