NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the stock market crash, saying both he and US President Donald Trump are experts in giving their economies “self-inflicted wounds” and that markets are reacting predictably in a “tariffying” manner.
Stock market benchmark indices went into a tailspin in early trade on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty crashing over 5 per cent, mirroring a sharp fall in global equities, after US President Trump’s tariff hikes and retaliation from China fanned fears that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the globe.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex crashed 3,939.68 points or 5.22 per cent to 71,425.01 in early trade. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,160.8 points or 5.06 per cent to 21,743.65.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “It is no wonder that Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump describe themselves as good friends. Both are experts in giving their economies self-inflicted wounds.”
“November 8, 2016 was demonetisation. April 2, 2025 was the bizarre reciprocal tariffs. Markets are reacting predictably in a tariffying manner,” Ramesh said.
Reacting to the market turmoil, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate slammed the government’s lack of response.
“Indian stock markets opened at their lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. Within the first five minutes, Rs 19 lakh crore worth of market capitalisation was wiped out. Helpless investors have nowhere to turn to, with Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah, who were once openly advocating and giving stock market tips, now mum,” Shrinate said.
She further warned that the market crash was just the beginning, with the tariffs imposed by Trump poised to “devastate our economy and job creation.”
Shrinate also questioned the government’s failure to take a strong stance against the US. “Countries across the world have condemned this tariff and promised support to their industries and companies that will be affected. But there has been no word of assurance, no protest from the Indian government. Mr. Modi’s conspicuous silence is no longer an option,” she added.
All the Sensex firms were trading in the negative territory. Tata Steel dropped over 8 per cent, followed by Tata Motors which cracked more than 7 per cent. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the other big laggards.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tanked nearly 11 per cent, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 plunged nearly 7 per cent, Shanghai SSE Composite index dropped over 6 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi index sank 5 per cent.
US markets ended sharply lower on Friday. The S&P 500 plummeted 5.97 per cent, Nasdaq composite slumped 5.82 per cent and the Dow tumbled 5.50 per cent on Friday.