Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has raised alarm over the sharp downturn in Indian stock markets, warning that the erosion of common people’s investments could drag the entire economy down. In a sharply worded post on X (formerly Twitter) in Hindi, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister blamed the central government for what he termed a “double vicious circle” affecting both the stock market and the broader economy.

His remarks came a day after Indian markets witnessed a steep plunge following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of new reciprocal tariffs — including a hefty 27 per cent  duty on Indian goods — as part of efforts to narrow the trade deficit and encourage domestic manufacturing. “It is very important to pay attention to the loss of millions of crores in the country’s stock market because the savings and capital of the common people, who invest their extra money to buy goods, vehicles, or land, are being wiped out,” Yadav wrote.

“This is what keeps the wheels of the economy moving. If their money sinks in the market, both the market and the economy collapse.” On Friday, investor wealth worth over Rs 10 lakh crore was wiped out as the BSE Sensex plummeted by 930 points, closing below the 76,000 mark amid global trade war fears and widespread sell-off.  The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell to `4.03 crore crore (USD 4.73 trillion).

Yadav expressed concern over the growing participation of young Indians in stock markets and how the prevailing instability could shake their confidence. “When youth suffer losses, they will lose trust in equity and other investments. That will spell long-term trouble for the capital market,” he said.

He also linked the economic distress to earlier policy decisions like demonetisation and alleged mismanagement during periods of slowdown. “There are people who neither have money nor jobs since demonetisation and recession. They survive on market activity. The fall of the stock market has a severe long-term impact on their lives.”

Calling the current economic scenario deeply unjust, Yadav said, “If we keep aside the 1 per cent super-rich, the remaining 99 per cent  of Indians are being directly or indirectly ruined by the collapse of the stock market.”

Lashing out at the ruling party, he concluded, “The BJP government is not only responsible for this economic crisis, it is also guilty. Investors today are saying — we donot want BJP!”