In a striking display of what critics are calling hypocrisy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has come under fire for advising investors to steer clear of the Indian stock market while holding substantial personal investments in the same market. Gandhi, who has used the controversial Hindenburg report to cast doubt on the stability of India’s financial markets, is being accused of undermining confidence in the economy to the advantage of foreign entities.
Despite his public criticism, Gandhi’s own financial interests tell a different story. According to his election affidavit for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 42 per cent of his declared assets—worth approximately Rs 8.3 crore—are invested in the Indian stock market. This includes Rs 4.3 crore in shares, Rs 3.8 crore in mutual funds, and Rs 15 lakh in gold bonds. Notably, his movable assets have increased by 59 per cent since 2019, highlighting the robust performance of the markets he publicly questions.
Some of the shares in which Rahul Gandhi has invested his money are:
- Young Indian: 1,900 equity shares of Rs100 each – Rs 1,90,000
- Alkyl Amines Chemical Ltd: 373 shares – Rs 7,39,211
- Asian Paints Ltd: 1,231 shares – Rs 35,29,954
- Bajaj Finance Ltd: 551 shares – Rs 35,89,407
- Deepak Nitrite Ltd: 568 shares – Rs 11,92,033
- Dr. Lal Pathlabs Ltd: 516 shares – Rs 10,43,429
- Fine Organic Industries Ltd: 211 shares – Rs 8,56,301
- Divis Laboratories Ltd: 567 shares – Rs 19,76,222
- Garware Technical Fibres Ltd: 508 shares – Rs 16,43,075
- GMM Pfaudler Ltd: 1,121 shares – Rs14,00,073
- Hindustan Unilever Ltd: 1,161 shares – Rs 27,02,460
- ICICI Bank Ltd: 2,299 shares – Rs 24,83,725
- Info Edge (India) Ltd: 85 shares – Rs 4,45,502
- Infosys Ltd: 870 shares – Rs 14,21,580
- ITC Ltd: 3,093 shares – Rs 12,96,276
- LTI Mindtree Ltd: 407 shares – Rs 21,14,100
- Mold-Tek Packaging Ltd: 1,953 shares – Rs 14,95,510
- Nestle India Ltd: 1,370 shares – Rs 35,67,001
- Pidilite Industries Ltd: 1,474 shares – Rs 42,27,432
- Suprajit Engineering Ltd: 4,068 shares – Rs 16,65,439
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd: 234 shares – Rs 9,87,305
- Titan Company Ltd: 897 shares – Rs 32,58,980
- Tube Investments Of India Ltd: 340 shares – Rs12,10,621
- Vertoz Advertising Ltd: 260 shares – Rs 1,89,085
- Vinyl Chemicals (India) Ltd: 960 shares – Rs 3,24,240
- Britannia Industries Ltd: 5.5 NCD – Rs 1,558
- HDFC MCOP DP GR: Rs 19,58,249
- HDFC Small Cap DP GR: Rs 17,89,032
- ICICI EQ&DF D Growth: Rs 19,03,179
- PPFAS FCF D Growth: Rs 19,76,536
- HDFC Small Cap Reg-G: Rs 1,23,85,545
- HDFC Hybrid Debt Fund-G: Rs 79,01,329
- ICICI Prudential Reg Savings-G: Rs 1,02,19,702
- Sovereign Gold Bond: 220 units – Rs 15,21,740
Indian LoP @RahulGandhi makes an open appeal to not invest in Indian Stock Market.
After popular leader @narendramodi won 3rd General Elections, foreign powers through opposition leaders trying to disrupt 🇮🇳 economy.
Same thing happened in #Bangladesh.pic.twitter.com/v90E0yEZku
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) August 11, 2024
Citizens, investors, and political figures have hit back at Rahul Gandhi after he endorsed the latest Hindenburg report, released on August 11, 2024. Since assuming the role of the opposition, Gandhi and his allies have consistently targeted the ruling BJP government, often placing blame even when unwarranted. His recent comments, however, have drawn particular ire due to the continued strong performance of India’s stock market under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.
The Indian stock market has seen remarkable growth during Modi 3.0, with benchmark indices like Sensex and Nifty breaking multiple records in recent months. Despite this robust performance, Gandhi, in a video message on Sunday, demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations against the SEBI Chairperson, which were raised by the US short-seller firm Hindenburg. He claimed that the integrity of India’s securities regulator, tasked with protecting small retail investors, has been “gravely compromised.”
Gandhi stated, “It is my duty as Leader of the Opposition to bring to your notice that there is a significant risk in the Indian stock market because the institutions that govern the stock market are compromised.” He further alleged that the Adani Group engaged in illegal share ownership and price manipulation using offshore funds.
However, Gandhi’s concerns seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as investors largely brushed off the Hindenburg allegations. The benchmark indices remained flat on Monday, signaling a lack of impact from the report.
Sushil Kedia, Founder and CEO of Kedianomics, criticised Hindenburg, recalling that the firm made similar big claims about the Adani Group 18 months ago. A Supreme Court-monitored investigation found no wrongdoing, and SEBI even issued a show-cause notice to Hindenburg for violating securities market rules. “Now 18 months later, Hindenburg suddenly comes and claims on social media that they have something big about India. The aim was to destroy the Indian stock market by breaking the trust of retail investors,” Kedia told IANS.
Since the beginning of 2024, Sensex has provided returns of about 11 per cent, while Nifty has yielded around 12 per cent, further demonstrating the market’s resilience and strong performance under the current government.
Gandhi’s endorsement of the Hindenburg report, in light of these facts, has led many to question his motivations and criticize his stance as politically driven rather than fact-based.
Know what is the latest Hindenberg Saga
US-based firm Hindenburg Research on August 10 alleged that SEBI’s Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband had a stake in “both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.”
In a strong rebuttal SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband accused Hindenburg Research, against whom SEBI has taken enforcement action, of character assassination. In the joint statement released to the media they said, “In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10, 2024, against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report. The same are devoid of any truth. Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years. We have no hesitation in disclosing any and all financial documents, including those that relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens, to any and every authority that may seek them. Further, in the interest of complete transparency, we would be issuing a detailed statement in due course.”
“It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an Enforcement action and issued a show cause notice has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same,” the statement from Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch read.
A detailed statement from Madhabi Buch and her husband is also expected later in the day.
Earlier on Saturday, US short seller Hindenburg had alleged, “We had previously noted Adani’s total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through Adani’s relationship with SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Buch.”
“What we hadn’t realized: the current SEBI Chairperson and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani,” the report by the US hedge firm said.
Hindenburg Research said it has made the new allegations based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations carried out by other entities.
“Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch first appear to have opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5, 2015, in Singapore, per whistleblower documents. A declaration of funds, signed by a principal at IIFL states that the source of the investment is “salary” and the couple’s net worth is estimated at USD 10 million,” the report stated.
In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company’s stock price. The group at the time had rubbished these claims.
The Hindenburg report alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate. The case is related to the allegations (part of a report by Hindenburg Research) that Adani had inflated its share prices. After these allegations were published, there was a sharp fall in the shares of various Adani group companies’ stocks, reportedly to the tune of over USD 100 billion.
The US short seller’s report in January was published two days before a USD 2.5 billion follow-up public offering was issued by Adani Enterprises. The Adani group has repeatedly denied all the accusations in the Hindenburg Research report.
