‘Why is STT still being charged?’: Tejasvi Surya says middle-class wealth boom under govt not appreciated enough

India’s financial revolution may be unfolding in plain sight, but BJP MP Tejasvi Surya believes the Centre still isn’t getting its due for driving it — especially from the very middle class whose wealth has soared.

In a post on X, Surya argued, “The amount of wealth the Modi Government has created for middle class India is not appreciated enough,” citing a decade-long boom in investor participation and market expansion. Backing his claim, he shared a chart showing a dramatic rise in financial engagement: demat accounts surged from 2.5 crore in 2015 to 19.7 crore in 2025, mutual fund investors jumped 5.5x, and mutual fund assets under management soared from ₹8 lakh crore to ₹72.2 lakh crore. 

Indian equity market capitalization rose nearly sixfold, from ₹74.2 lakh crore to ₹444.2 lakh crore.

Surya credited the government with enabling a generation of Indians to enter capital markets — not just as investors, but as stakeholders in the country’s economic rise. “It’s useful both for capital generation for the economy as well as savings and investment for the common public,” he wrote.

The post quickly drew responses that blended praise with pressing concerns.

“Great Tejasvi, truly yes that the investor participation has increased,” one user wrote. “But how do you safeguard investment and investors in their continued journey? Hope these numbers aren't just from dormant accounts handed out by banks.”

A retired private sector worker added: “Many of us live on monthly withdrawals from the market. Kindly ask the FM to increase the capital gains exemption limit for senior citizens — applying it over ₹5 lakh would be a great help.”

Others were more critical. “Govt has actually blocked the markets with too many restrictions and is looting the middle class with taxes,” one user posted. “Why is STT still being charged alongside LTCG or STCG?”