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Money > Reuters > Report March 8, 2001 |
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Parliament to debate stock market crisisThe Indian government agreed on Thursday to hold a parliamentary debate on recent domestic stock market turbulence after coming under fire from lawmakers over steep falls in share prices. "The government is fully ready to discuss the issue," External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told Parliament. Government officials said the debate was likely to be held on Monday. The right-wing Shiv Sena, a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, joined opposition calls in Parliament for an independent probe into the volatility allegedly caused by fears of a payment default by some brokers. India's stock market regulator is investigating why India's benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index plunged by more than 7 per cent by Friday from levels hit after last Wednesday's market-friendly budget. But lawmakers said the probe by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) was insufficient. "There has to be an (independent) inquiry. The inquiry should not be conducted by Sebi because their role in the incident is not above board," Shiv Sena member Sanjay Nirumpam told Parliament. BSE president Anand Rathi quit on Thursday over allegations he was embroiled in a scandal involving the leaking of privileged information to some brokers. He has denied any wrongdoing. The Sebi took steps this week to ease volatility by imposing curbs on short sales and raising margin limits and the market has recovered partially. It closed up 0.25 per cent on Thursday. Meanwhile, a senior finance ministry official rejected opposition suggestions that the regulator was slow to act. "If you look at the index from February 27 onwards, there has been no drastic fall. It went up, it came down. There's nothing to suggest any delay on Sebi's part," finance secretary Ajit Kumar said. Kumar said the ministry would not interfere in the markets as the regulator was fully equipped to handle the situation. "Being on the spot, they (Sebi) are aware of what measures are to be taken to curb volatility," Kumar told reporters. ALSO READ:
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