New Delhi:The Parliament was adjourned on Wednesday amid protests by the Opposition members over the Adani controversy and recent violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, among other issues. Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned once in the morning and later for the day amid continuous uproar by the Opposition.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition MPs submitted as many as 18 notices before the House chairman Jagdeep Dhankar demanding discussion on Adani bribery case, Sambhal violence and other issues.
Speaking to the media in the Parliament complex, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the government of protecting the Adani group’s chairman Gautam Adani and repeated his call for Adani’s arrest. The BJP, however, hit back and said, “The Opposition is playing in the hands of American investor George Soros”.
Trouble started in the Upper House when Dhankhar rejected the 18 notices under a rule of the House to suspend scheduled business to take up issues, including the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. The lawmakers of the Opposition bench raised slogans inside the Parliament pressing for discussion on the controversy over the business conglomerate.
The proceedings were briefly adjourned due to the Opposition protests and when the House reassembled at 11.30 am, the Opposition MPs resumed their protest. While the Congress members demanded a discussion under Rule 267 after the suspension of the House business and also setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe allegations against the Adani group, the other Opposition parties gave similar notices on different issues. This prompted the Rajya Sabha Chairman to adjourn the proceedings for the day, saying the “House is not in order”.
The Upper House needs to reflect and follow well-established traditions that the ruling of the Chair requires reference and not cause differences. I have, in detail, given reasons why, in these situations, notices are not being accepted, Dhankhar said while rejecting the notices under Rule 267 of the House.
Dhankhar emphasised that the House needs to reflect and follow well-established traditions that a ruling of the Chair requires “deference and not (be a) cause of differences”. While rejecting the notices, the Chairman also stressed that there will be occasions to raise these issues in accordance with rules.
Soon after the Lok Sabha assembled in the morning, Speaker Om Birla took up the Question Hour but adjourned the House proceedings following sloganeering by the Opposition members.
The Opposition MPs wanted to discuss the allegations of irregularities against the Adani group and the recent violence in Sambhal during a court-ordered survey of a mosque. They trooped into the Well of the House, raising slogans as soon as the House met again at noon.
BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings for the day after official papers were laid on the table.
Speaking to the media, Gandhi said, “Do you think that Adani is going to accept the charges? Obliviously, he is going to deny the charges. The point is he has to be arrested. Hundreds of people are being arrested on tiny charges. Adani has been indicted in the United States for thousands of crores. He should be in jail. The government is protecting him.”
Hitting back at Gandhi, BJP national spokesperson Tom Vadakkan accused the Congress of doing US investor George Soros’ bidding.
“This is not an attack by the Congress but a Soros script being enacted in India... The US administration has also realised that this is a case that has been funded by Soros. This is a script that is outside India to defeat India economically, Vadakkan said.
