Nagercoil (TN) (PTI): Sharing a dais with his Tamil Nadu counterpart and DMK supremo M K Stalin here, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has alleged that the Union government was misusing central agencies for persecuting the BJP's political rivals.

Vijayan called for a joint fight by CPI(M) and the Dravidian party against the BJP on many issues, including protection of regional languages.

"We have long talked about the political misuse of central investigative agencies and the agencies like ED and CBI were being misused for political persecution," the Kerala Chief Minister said.

"Many of the ED cases go unpunished. There is no big difference in CBI cases also. It means that their credibility has been eroded by political abuse," Vijayan said, while addressing a function organised by the CPI(M) Tamil Nadu unit here on Monday to mark the 200th anniversary of the 'Thol Sheelai Porattam' (Channar revolt).

Vijayan made the allegations against the central agencies weeks after his former principal secretary M Sivasankar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged Life Mission housing project bribe case.

Raking up the anti-Hindi sentiments of Dravidian parties, Vijayan said: "We know that the slogan of one language, one country, one culture is that of fascism and will destroy India's diversity."

"I remember DMK fighting for language protection. Today, we see the imposition of Hindi becoming a reality in the country and those who rule the Centre have become its advocates and practitioners," Vijayan said.

The veteran Left leader said there were many factors that can bring the Left party and the DMK together in their fight against the Centre.

This includes protection of language and preservation of the federal structure of the country and also the protection of the states' needs and the fierce struggle for rights, he added.

The Kerala Chief Minister also claimed that there are parties in every state to stand with the DMK and the CPI(M) in all these issues.

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New Delhi, Sep 24: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said 90 per cent of small investors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh crore in Futures and Option (F&O) trading in three years and asked the SEBI to reveal the names of the "so called big players" profiteering at their expense.

More than 91 per cent, or 73 lakh, individual traders lost money in the F&O segment in FY24 with an average net loss of Rs 1.2 lakh per person, a study conducted by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revealed on Monday.

Further, 93 per cent of over 1 crore individual F&O traders incurred average losses of about Rs 2 lakh per trader (inclusive of transaction costs) during the three years from FY22 to FY24. The aggregate losses of such traders exceeded Rs 1.8 lakh crore during the period.

Gandhi, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on X, "Uncontrolled F&O trading has grown 45X in 5 years. 90% of small investors have lost ₹1.8 lakh Cr in 3 years."

"SEBI must reveal the names of the so called 'Big Players' making a killing at their expense," the former Congress chief said.

The study said in FY24 alone, individuals incurred about Rs 75,000 crore in net losses.

It found the top 3.5 per cent of loss-makers -- about 4 lakh traders -- faced an average loss of Rs 28 lakh per person over the same period, inclusive of transaction costs.

On the other hand, only 7.2 per cent of individual F&O traders made a profit over the period of three years and only 1 per cent of individual traders managed to earn profits exceeding Rs 1 lakh, after adjusting for transaction costs.

Moreover, the number of retail traders, or individual traders, has almost doubled in two years to about 96 lakh in FY24 from about 51 lakh in FY22.

Although such investors contributed about 30 per cent to the total turnover in FY24, they are a clear majority in number terms, as 99.8 per cent of total traders in the equity F&O segment are individuals.

"The availability of sophisticated trading platforms and lower transaction costs have enabled retail investors to actively trade in options and futures contracts, contributing to the surge in market liquidity," SEBI said.

The regulator said rapid growth in F&O trading activity has highlighted the need for investor education and risk management practices, as a significant proportion of retail traders continued to incur losses in the market.