Both Parliament Houses adjourned for third consecutive day over Adani row
Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for a third day on Monday (February 6), as the Opposition insisted on discussing the Adani Group controversy.
Adani Group’s stocks have nosedived after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused it of fraud and stock market manipulation. While the Group has rubbished the claims, its market value has almost halved since the allegations.
Earlier in the day, both Houses were adjourned till 2 pm following protests by the Opposition, demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Adani Group stock rout. Once the proceedings resumed at 2 pm, the Opposition continued its protest, bringing forth the adjournment of both Houses till 11 am on Tuesday (February 7).
Yet again for the third day in a row Opposition not allowed to even mention in Parliament its legitimate demand for JPC into PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam. Adjourned till 2pm. Modi Govt is simply running away!
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 6, 2023
Third day in a row
On Thursday and Friday, too, both Houses were adjourned over the same issue. Over the weekend, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement, “Amid the allegations against the Adani Group, the Modi government has maintained a loud silence, which smacks of collusion.”
Soon after the Lok Sabha met after the weekend break, Opposition MPs came to the well of the House, shouting slogans and demanding a probe into the business practices of the corporate giant. They raised “Adani sarkar” slogans and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against the group.
Speaker Om Birla appealed to them to go back to their seats. “Sloganeering is against the dignity of the House. People have elected you to raise their issues in Parliament, but you are not interested in participating in debate,” he said.
Also read: Modi govt cannot run away from questions saying ‘Hum Adani ke hain kaun?’: Congress
He even invited Opposition leaders to go to his chamber to discuss the issues and ensure the smooth functioning of the Parliament. However, the Opposition ignored his pleas and continued their protests and slogan-shouting, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House till 2 pm.
Upper House disrupted
In the Rajya Sabha, too, Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar did not accept 10 notices submitted by various opposition party leaders to suspend the listed business of the day and take up the issues raised by them.
Dhankar said, “The fact that you choose a forum meant for deliberation for extraneous purposes it is not appropriate.”
Watch: Is the Modi govt distancing itself from Adani?
Earlier in the day, the Congress protested outside the offices of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and State Bank of India (SBI), both of which have exposure to Adani companies. The Congress protest was to highlight the risk faced by millions of small investors in LIC and SBI.
“Adani, Modi friends”
In the morning, leaders of 16 opposition parties — including Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JDU, SP, CPM, CPI, JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD, and Shiv Sena — protested at the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex, demanding a JPC probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the matter.
Also read: Opposition parties seek discussion on Adani row, China border dispute
They carried cards with slogans saying “Save LIC” and “Adani-Modi mei yaari hai, paise ki loot jaari hai” (Adani and Modi are friends, the looting of money continues).
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters that they were ready to speak on the President’s Address, but their first demand is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives a reply on the Adani issue.
(With agency inputs)
