India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has called for a parliamentary investigation into Narendra Modi and his right-hand-man for alleged stock market manipulation in the wake of the election results.
Gandhi said Modi and home minister Amit Shah gave misleading advice to the public after exit polls incorrectly suggested the ruling BJP would win another landslide.
Modi and Shah had urged people to “buy (stocks) before June 4, they will shoot up”. When the election results were finally released on Tuesday, however, Indian stocks suffered their biggest crash in four years.
Meanwhile, Modi continues talks to form a coalition government, amid reports that the BJP’s minor allies are making big demands regarding policy changes.
Plans are being made for Modi to be inaugurated for his third term on Sunday, but he is being forced to negotiate on Cabinet roles with alliance members after his BJP unexpectedly failed to win a majority in the country’s election.
Modi’s alliance partners like the Janata Dal (United) party have already said publicly that they will push the BJP to reverse some of its recent flagship policies, and there is said to be disagreement over the seniority of cabinet roles being offered to JD(U) and another coalition party.
