Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conducts proceedings in the House during the first day of the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: No business was conducted in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the first day of Parliament's Winter Session as the Opposition attempts to raise the issue of indictment of billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani in the United States was disallowed.
Both the Houses will now meet on Wednesday morning as there is no sitting of Parliament on Tuesday due to commemoration of the 75th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly.
Opposition MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha used the first opportunity they got to raise the Adani issue and demand an immediate discussion on the issue by suspending the rules of the respective Houses but were rejected by the presiding officers.
As MPs protested the decision, the House was adjourned till Wednesday.
"The 'Modani' issue rocked both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha today. I.N.D.I.A. parties called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the Modani scam -- the case for which has been reinforced by the recent indictments of Adani's bribery and suppression of information from Indian and American regulators," Congress Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh posted on 'X'.
The I.N.D.I.A. parties met in the morning to discuss floor strategy and chose to focus on the Adani issue and insist on an immediate discussion.
“The first step the government should take is to have a detailed discussion on the Adani saga which has the potential of tarnishing India’s image at the global stage. This is what the INDIA bloc parties demand today, for the hard earned investments of crores of retail investors are at stake,” Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge, who chaired the meeting, posted on 'X'.
The Lok Sabha convened at 11 am and adjourned till 12 noon after paying tribute to departed members, including two MPs who had won the parliamentary elections this year. When the House reconvened, the Opposition MPs were on their feet raising slogans demanding a probe into the allegations levelled against a prominent businessman in a US court as well as about police action in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal.
Lawmakers, including Congress' KC Venugopal and Manickam Tagore, submitted adjournment notices on the issue of Adani. BJP MP Sandhya Ray, who was chairing the proceedings, asked if the members were not keen to allow proceedings in the House and adjourned the House.
Rajya Sabha too witnessed Opposition demand on Adani with Kharge leading the charge. The House was first adjourned for 15 minutes at 11:30 and when it reconvened, Opposition parties insisted on an immediate discussion on the Adani issue following which Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the House.
Dhankhar said he was disallowing 13 notices served under rule 267 to suspend business, including seven that sought a discussion on the US indictment on the alleged payment of $265 million in bribes. Kharge was initially allowed to speak but the Chairman said his remarks will not go on record as he referred to the Adani issue.
The notices on Adani were submitted by Kharge and his Congress colleagues Neeraj Dangi, Pramod Tiwari, Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Syed Naseer Hussain, CPI(M)'s John Brittas and AAP's Sanjay Singh.
On Manipur violence, CPI's P Sandosh Kumar and AAP's Raghav Chadha submitted notices while on the Sambhal issue, Samajwadi Party's Javed Ali Khan, Congress' Hussain and Muslim League's Haris Beeran submitted notices. CPI(M)'s P Sivadasan sought an immediate discussion on the issue of special assistance to the flood-hit Wayanad district of Kerala.