A united Opposition on Thursday stalled both houses of Parliament demanding a discussion on the row over a report by New York-based investor research firm Hindenburg Research, which has accused industrialist Gautam Adani’s companies of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”.
Leaders of numerous Opposition parties gathered in Parliament at Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber to discuss floor strategy. According to sources, numerous leaders believe the Opposition should seek the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the entire incident.
Some leaders favoured a Supreme Court-monitored investigation because they believed the makeup of a JPC, given the BJP’s numerical superiority in Parliament, would be biassed in favour of the ruling party.
Ramgopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Derek O Brien of the Trinamool Congress, Vandana Chavan of the NCP, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction, Kanimozhi of the DMK, Elamaram Kareem of the CPM, Sanjay Singh of the AAP, and Binoy Viswam of the CPI were among those present.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha adjourned shortly after the third day of the Budget Session began at 11 a.m., with Opposition lawmakers seeking a debate on the Adani Group. Reports also suggests that the Opposition tried to create ruckus in the parliament over this issue.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar opened the upper house’s morning session by addressing notifications given under Rule 267 by nine Opposition MPs—Kharge, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Binoy Vishwam, A A Rahim, A Karim, Sanjay Singh, K Keshav Rao, P Santosh Kumar, and Tiruchi Siva.
According to Kharge’s notice, “this House suspends Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other business of the day to discuss the issue of LIC, public sector banks, and financial institutions investing in companies losing market value, endangering crores of Indians’ hard-earned savings.”
LS, RS house adjourned as Opposition creates ruckus
The Rajya Sabha’s Rule 267 provides for the suspension of the day’s work to debate a subject brought by a member, which is typically of national importance.
In response to the notification, Dhankhar stated that the requests do not meet the standards of Rule 267, which allows for the suspension of activity. Dhankhar stated, referring to similar demands made by Opposition members during the Winter Session of Parliament on other matters and to which he had not agreed, that “I had strongly indicated before the fulfilment of requirements necessary for the invocation of Rule 267. I thoroughly reviewed the notices received and discovered that they are out of order.”
Dhankhar further stated that the notifications do not meet the requirements of Rule 267, prompting loud protests from opposition MPs. He then deferred Rajya Sabha sessions till 2 p.m.
“Both Houses of Parliament adjourned today until 2 p.m. because the Government refused to agree to a combined Opposition demand for an investigation into forced investments by LIC, SBI, and other public institutions that have lost huge value in recent days, endangering crores of Indians’ savings,” Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh said.