New Delhi: The first day of the winter session of the parliament came to a swift end as both Houses were adjourned shortly after convening on Monday (November 25) amid demands for a discussion on US indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani.
Jagdeep Dhankar, chairman of the Rajya Sabha, received 13 notices from opposition MPs to raise the issue of “alleged corruption, bribery and financial irregularities of the Adani Group”. Some members also submitted notices calling for a discussion on the violence in Sambhal, Manipur and the landslide-affected areas of Wayanad.
Dhankar, however, rejected the notices saying, “These notices do not conform to the directives imparted by the chair in this behalf. I have not been able to persuade myself to agree to the same.”
Proceedings were then adjourned for 15 minutes and then for the remainder of the day. The House will reconvene on Wednesday, 11 am.
Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, began the proceedings by reading out obituary references. The House observed a minute’s silence to pay respects to the deceased.
Also read: Plea Seeking Investigation Into US Indictment of Adani Filed in Supreme Court
Just as opposition MPs asked for a discussion on the US indictment involving billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, Birla announced that the House was adjourned till 12 pm. When proceedings resumed, oppositions reiterated their demand which was rejected by Sandhya Ray who was occupying the chair at the time. The Lok Sabha will reconvene on Wednesday, 11 am.
Last week, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accused Adani of running a $265 million bribery scheme from 2020 to 2024 to secure solar energy contracts in India, projected to yield $2 billion in profits over 20 years.
“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” said Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Adani, who heads the Adani Group, and Sagar have been indicted for their roles as executives of Adani Green Energy Ltd.
