Congress All opposition parties had accused the government of rigging the stock market through exit polls after the general elections. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had accused the stock market of scam through exit polls and said that small investors suffered huge losses due to this. Axis My India chief Pradeep Gupta, who is facing criticism from opposition parties, has said that he is ready to face all kinds of investigations.
JPC was demanded
Opposition political parties and several other organisations have demanded a thorough investigation by capital market regulator SEBI and a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into whether there was an attempt to influence the stock markets through exit polls. The stock markets had seen a huge surge when the exit polls gave a huge majority to the BJP, but the actual results showed a sharp decline after the ruling party did not get a clear majority on its own.
The exit poll was not correct
Gupta, chairman and managing director of Axis My India, had predicted 361-401 seats for the BJP-led alliance, while the actual number was much less. He termed the demand for banning exit polls as childish and said that every citizen and organization wants to know the election results and banning exit polls will not help. Gupta said, “We have nothing to do with the stock market, but I am happy with these allegations, because our data and working system are perfect. Any investigation will give me a chance to show the world everything that is used to predict the exit polls.
Ready for any kind of investigation
Asked if he was ready for a JPC or SEBI probe, he said, “I am ready to face all kinds of probes.” “As far as any benefit to me from the stock market boom is concerned, Axis My India does not have a demat account. It is a limited company, not listed. There has been no outside investment in the company till date. The promoters have also not made any investment. My personal investment in shares since April has been just Rs 35,000. Where did I gain?” Gupta also responded to allegations that Axis My India conducted exit polls for foreign investors and shared different results with them.
Didn’t work for foreign investors
“No FII has ever approached us, nor have we worked for any foreign investor. We have never conducted any exit poll survey for them,” he said. Terming the demand for a ban on exit polls as “childish”, Gupta said specific regulations for pollsters will not only help improve the business but also increase the credibility of exit polls. He also said that 70 per cent of Axis My India’s clients are corporate clients, including big companies like the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation.
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