New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday 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, and demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe into it.

Addressing a press conference here, he alleged that besides Modi and Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also commented on the stock markets ahead of elections, which has never happened in the past.

He said stock markets rose after "fake" exit polls and then crashed the day votes for the Lok Sabha polls were counted on June 4 with retail investors losing their investments.

"The common people of India lost Rs 30 lakh crore in the stock market on June 4...We demand a JPC investigation into this biggest-ever stock market scam," Gandhi said.

He alleged that people higher up in the BJP carried out this stock market scam and "Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah were 'directly involved'." "We want inquiry against Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Shah and those who carried out the exit polls," he said.

The former Congress chief also posed a set of three questions, asking, "Why did the PM and HM give specific investment advice to the five crore families investing in the stock markets? Is it their job to give investment advice to the people?".

"Why both interviews were given to the same media house owned by the same business group, which is also under SEBI investigations for manipulating stock markets," he also asked, alleging that the interviews given by the prime minister and home minister were to the same channel owned by a big business house.

"What is the connection between the BJP, the fake exit pollsters, and the dubious foreign investors, who invested one day before the exit polls were announced and made huge profits, at the cost of five crore families?" Gandhi asked.

He claimed that for the first time we noted that during polls, Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Shah, Finance Minister Sitharaman commented on the stock market.

"Why did the prime minister and home minister give investment advice to people," Gandhi asked and claimed "BJP leaders had information that exit polls were wrong." Asked whether he was linking Adani group, Gandhi said this is a broader issue than the Adani issue.

"It is connected to the Adani issue but it is much broader. This is directly the Prime Minister of India and the Home Minister who are privy to data on the actual election results, who have the IB reports, who have their own data, and who are advising retail investors to buy stocks.

"Quite interestingly, this has never happened before that the PM has commented on the stock market. This is happening for the first time and multiple times when he is saying that the stock market is going to boom," he claimed.

He also cited the chronology of events in which Amit Shah said on May 13, "Buy shares before June 4th" and on May 19, Modi had said, "Stock markets will break records on June 4th".

But, on June 1, 2024, after the last phase of polling, the media released exit polls and on June 3, the stock market broke records and reached an all-time high.

On June 4, the stock market crashed and investors lost Rs 30 lakh crore.

"For 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 biggest stock market scam," he said.