New Delhi: Parliament was washed out for the third consecutive day on Monday as opposition parties continued to press for a debate on allegations of fraud against the Adani Group, even as the Congress hit the streets across the country in protest against the Union government on the issue.
Outside Parliament, members of 17 opposition parties held a protest at the Gandhi statue after their demand for a discussion in Parliament was rejected in both Houses. Later in the day, some opposition leaders indicated that they could relent and allow the House to function on Tuesday.
“The government is scared and does not want that there should be a discussion about Adani ji in Parliament,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said at an event in Delhi. “But the government should allow discussion. You will see Modi ji, not the government, trying his best to stop any such discussion in Parliament. There is a reason for that and you know the reason.”
He was speaking at the sidelines of a programme at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, as part of the party’s programme to hold street events outside the offices of State Bank of India (SBI) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in several cities.
Opposition parties want to discuss the extent of exposure of SBI and LIC to the Adani Group, which has seen market value of around $110 billion wiped out since American research firm Hindenburg accused it of fraud. The government has said the matter was for regulators to look into and maintained that the meltdown would not hurt the economy.
With no business conducted for the third consecutive day, the first half of the session now has about five days to complete the discussions on the President’s speech and the Budget. The first half of the session is slated to end Monday but many leaders want it to close on Friday. The second part of the session will begin on March 14.
In the Lok Sabha, speaker Om Birla criticised the Opposition for shouting slogans and not allowing the discussion on President’s Speech while in the Rajya Rabha, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar refused to accept the Opposition’s demand for an adjournment motion and suspending listed business.
As protests erupted, Birla offered to listen to the Opposition MPs. “Whatever subject or issue you want to raise; you can discuss with me in my chamber.” But with the din only growing, Birla added, “Do you come here only to shout slogans? Do the people of our constituencies send you here to only shout slogans? The people of the country are watching you. You should raise their basic issues. I will give you ample time on every issue.”
Some Opposition parties are hopeful that they will join the discussions from Tuesday. A senior Opposition leader said there was an agreement that the protests will stop on Monday and all Opposition parties will join the discussion. “We must join the discussion and utilise our time to raise different important issues,” the non-Congress Opposition leader said, requesting anonymity.
But the Congress appeared combative. At an event in Delhi, Gandhi insisted on a debate over the Adani issue. “For many years I have been saying about the government that Hum do hamare do. The government is scared and does not want that there should be a discussion about Adani ji in the Parliament,” he said.
He added that he had been flagging the issue for two-three years. “There should be a discussion on this… the corruption worth lakhs and crores of rupees, the infrastructure of India that has been captured, should be discussed and the country should also come to know what the power behind Adani ji is,” Gandhi said.
The Congress organised protests across the country. In Delhi, Youth Congress workers staged protests near Jantar Mantar. In Punjab, the Congress held protests in front of LIC offices.
Demonstrations were held across Chhattisgarh, with state Congress president Mohan Markam, who took part in a demonstration in capital Raipur, saying that Hindenburg’s disclosure proved “LIC and State Bank of India, under the protection of PM Modi, made risky investments in Adani’s company”.
In Jharkhand, Congress workers led by state unit president Rajesh Thakur marched to SBI headquarters at Kutchery Chowk and LIC state headquarters in Hindoo area in the state capital, besides holding sit-in protest at district headquarters.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition stuck to its demand for a discussion on alleged irregularities by the Adani Group but Dhankhar did not allow this; he said he had received 10 notices under Rule 267 — to adjourn other business of the House — from leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge; Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Pramod Tiwari, Syed Nasir Hussain and Kumar Ketkar; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Tiruchi Siva; Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s K. Keshava Rao; Communist Party of India’s Binoy Biswam and Sandosh Kumar P; and Communist Party of India-Marxist’s Elamaram Kareem.
As soon as the Upper House reassembled for the afternoon session, having been adjourned earlier in the day till 2pm, Opposition members asked for a discussion on the issue.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, however, did not entertain their requests and asked them to let the listed business conclude. “…we must conclude with our listed business and that is what we should be doing,” he said.
When Opposition MPs protested against the chair’s decision, Dhankhar said, “They want things in the House to be regulated as per law and Constitution and the deliberations to be effective… Now, the established practice that a direction has been imparted to frustrate the functioning of the House, to put it in disorder is certainly beyond the expectations of the people. We are not honouring their aspirations. We are not acting in accordance with what we are expected to do.”
With the Opposition parties unrelenting, the Chairman adjourned the House for the day.
Mayhem in the Adani Group companies was precipitated in the last week of January following a report by an American activist investor group Hindenburg, which accused the conglomerate of improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation, while also raising concerns over high debt levels.
The group denied the allegations, saying the short-seller’s narrative of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. SBI has said its exposure to the Adani Group was insignificant and LIC has said that customers should not be concerned. .