Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Friday, Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2.30 pm following uproars by opposition parties in both Houses over the Adani issue.
In the Lower House, soon after the House met for the day, opposition members were on their feet shouting slogans and demanding a probe by a joint parliamentary committee into the tanking of the Adani Group scrips and sought a probe into the business practices of the corporate giant.
Speaker Om Birla appealed to members to participate in the discussions during the Question Hour, which he termed as significant.
“Honourable members Question Hour is very significant. Today issues related to health, G20, defence and other important issues are being taken up for discussions. This is a good opportunity for all of you to discuss and debate over them.Such important issues are being discussed in the House but you are not taking part in it,” he said.
Birla said the House will take up the Motion of Thanks to the president for her address at the beginning of the Budget session.
“The House is also going to discuss the Motion of Thanks to the president for her address. You don’t want to thank her,” he asked.
“She is the country’s first tribal woman president and it was her first address to the joint sitting of the both houses and you all should participate in it,” he said.
The speaker appealed the MPs to stop their protests and participate in the discussions
“What do you want to show to the people of the country (by protests). I will give you enough time to raise your issues if you give proper notice,” he said.
However, an unrelenting opposition continued their protests and sloganeering, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings till 2 pm.
For Hindenburg Research, Adani Group is a ‘man-made disaster’ in the making
The scene in the Rajya Sabha was similar as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected the 15 adjournment notices filed by members of various opposition parties to discuss the Adani group issue in the wake of allegations made against the conglomerate by a US-based short seller just as soon after the house met for the day.
The chairman urged members of the Rajya Sabha to maintain order and allow the listed business of the House to be taken up. But unrelenting opposition members raised an uproar over the rejection of their adjournment notices.
Dhankhar told the protesting members that Parliament is the essence and the North Star of democracy. It is a place for discussion and deliberation and not a place of disturbance, he said.
“I have received 15 notices under Rule 267 from different members…I have gone through all the notices. I am unable to accede to them as these are not fulfilling the requirements of rule 267,” the chairman said, leading to uproar from opposition members.
He then adjourned the house till 2.30 pm, as opposition members continued to cause uproar.
Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after the US short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations last week in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group, which has denied the charges.
The market losses of the Adani Group have risen to nearly USD 103 billion (about Rs 8.5 lakh crore).
The rout in Adani group stocks has threatened the value of investments made by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and public sector banks.
