Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government, accusing it of turning a blind eye to alleged manipulation in the Futures and Options (F&O) market that, according to him, has pushed small investors toward financial ruin while enriching large players.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi claimed he had foreseen and warned about the loopholes in the F&O segment of the stock market. “I had clearly stated in 2024 that the F&O market has become a playground for 'big players,' while the pockets of small investors are being continuously drained,” Gandhi said in his Hindi-language post.
Referring to recent developments, the Congress leader highlighted that even the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had now acknowledged that Jane Street, a New York-based hedge fund, manipulated trades worth thousands of crores. He questioned SEBI’s prolonged silence on the issue. “Why did SEBI remain silent for so long?” he asked, demanding accountability from both the market regulator and the central government.
Gandhi accused the Modi government of deliberately ignoring the malpractice and raised concerns about the possible involvement of other influential market players. “At whose behest was the Modi government sitting with its eyes shut? And how many more big sharks are still shorting retail investors?” he questioned. He further alleged that this pattern fits into a broader trend where the current regime benefits the ultra-rich while ordinary citizens bear the brunt. “In every case, it is clear – the Modi government is making the rich richer and pushing ordinary investors to the brink of ruin,” Gandhi stated.
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In his post, Gandhi also re-shared an earlier statement dated September 24, 2024, in which he warned against "uncontrolled F&O trading," citing that it had grown 45 times in five years. He claimed that 90% of small investors had lost ₹1.8 lakh crore in just three years due to such trading. He had also demanded that SEBI disclose the names of the so-called “big players” profiting at the expense of retail investors.
Meanwhile, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey addressed the matter on Monday, stating that the regulator did not foresee “many other risks” of the magnitude involved in the Jane Street case. In a significant order issued early Friday morning, SEBI found Jane Street guilty of manipulating stock indices by taking simultaneous bets in the cash, futures, and options markets. The hedge fund reportedly made hefty profits through this strategy and has now been barred from accessing Indian markets. SEBI has also impounded illegal gains amounting to over ₹4,843 crore.
According to SEBI’s findings, Jane Street generated a net profit of ₹36,671 crore during the investigation period, which spanned from January 2023 to May 2025.
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