"Clear case of insider trading": TMC on stock market 'manipulation' through exit polls

New Delhi [India], June 19 : The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday questioned what made Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) so active in trading on May 31 and whether companies that carry out exit polls in the country and also conduct internal surveys for institutional investors share any report that reflected the actual poll results with their investor clients.
The TMC said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) should investigate this closely and if it is found to be true, then it is a "clear case of insider trading".
"Foreign Institutional Investors made the highest purchases on May 31 that they have done in 25 years. In the last 25 years, May 31 was also the largest selling by FII in the last 25 years. What suddenly made institutional investors so active in trading on May 31. What suddenly happened on May 31?" TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said in a press conference on Wednesday.
"The company that is going on TV and giving exit polls, the same company has been hired by the BJP to conduct internal surveys for them, the same company is also giving internal surveys to foreign institutional investors and banks. The exit poll predictions that were given on TV by these agencies such as Axis My India, did they give the same predictions in the reports that they gave to their investor clients? Did the survey reports that the FIIs got from these exit poll agencies, did those reports also reflect '400 paar' or were the reports that were given to them showed the actual number, which is BJP is not going to get majority? If that is the case then it is a clear case of insider trading," he further questioned.
The exit poll predictions on the Lok Sabha elections had been off the mark as it failed to predict the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's stark losses in states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
Gokhale pointed out that the SEBI should find out whether people who have a stake in the exit poll agencies are associated with any politician, whether they were hired by institutional entities and their conflicts of interests.
"SEBI needs to investigate who are the people who have a stake in all of these exit poll agencies...SEBI needs to find out whether these exit poll agencies had any investments by any politicians, whether they were hired by any institutional entities that were investing and who owns the exit poll companies and what are their conflicts of interests," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Gokhale further said that owing to the off-the-mark predictions of the exit polls, the markets started crashing on the day of Lok Sabha election results and average investors lost Rs 30 lakh crore due to panic selling.
"When the markets started crashing on June 4, the day of elections results, Indian average investors could not understand what was happening. In the morning the markets were steady, as the results started coming out the markets were crashing...Prime Minister Modi was trailing in the first half of the day...As a result, the investors realised that the exit polls were completely rubbish and everyone started selling in panic. The markets crashed. Ordinary investors lost a whopping Rs 30 lakh crore," he said.
Speaking about the investors who made Rs 30 lakh crore profit, Gokhale also questioned how did they make their investment choices as they are different from the average Indian retail investors who made losses.
"If average Indian retail investors have lost Rs 30 lakh crore rupees, it means there are also entities that have also made profits of Rs 30 lakh crore rupees. If the markets were showing a different direction, if an average person based on the information they are getting from the market decided to purchase when the stocks were going high and started selling the next day when the market was crashing, how did these investors who made Rs 30 lakh crore profit, how did they know that this is the time to sell and this is the time to buy? Their actions were not logical with what the exit poll predictions were indicating. Who are these entities who have made profits of Rs 30 lakh crores?" he said.
On trading that took place on futures and options on June 4, Gokhale said, "Futures and options is where you can make profits as high as 800 percent. What is the trading that happened on futures and options on that day and the entities who made windfall profits?"
Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose who was also present at the press conference questioned why a select few institutional investors doubled their transactions on May 31 and whether they were aware of the exit poll predictions.
"On May 31, a few foreign institutional investors doubled their transactions in the stock market that was not done in the last 25 years. Why did they double their transactions and why was it the case with only some investors? Was it because the exit polls were going to come on June 1? Were these selected institutional investors aware of the exit polls? Were they informed about what the exit polls were going to tell?" Ghose asked.

Ghose also took on the central government for not permitting Australia's Deputy High Commissioner to meet a Minister from her state.
"First, our dues were not given and now why is the Modi govt not giving permission to Australia's Deputy High Commissioner who was going to Bengal to meet our minister...," Ghose asked.
Ghose said that the central government is trying to "destroy" the federal structure of the country.
"The way the central government is trying to deny permission to the Deputy High Commissioner of Australia, who was going to Bengal and was trying to meet the minister in Bengal..it has been recommended by the central government that this meeting should not happen. Why is this happening? During the G20 Summit, all the states were involved in it. Now, the federal structure of the country is being destroyed. The representatives of the states who want to go abroad are being stopped and the way they are doing this in such a dirty, uncivilized manner is very shameful...," she said.