Both Houses of Parliament adjourned till Nov 27 amid ruckus over Adani issue

New Delhi: Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Monday without conducting any significant business following an uproar by opposition members over various issues, including the recent indictment of Adani Group founder Gautam Adani in a US court. The court charged Adani and others with paying bribes to secure solar power supply contracts.

The Houses will reconvene on Wednesday, November 27, with no session scheduled for Tuesday in observance of the 75th anniversary of the Constituent Assembly’s adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1949.

The disruptions began when Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected 13 notices filed under Rule 267, including seven calls for a discussion on the US indictment involving a bribery scandal worth USD 265 million. Despite Dhankhar’s refusal, opposition members from Congress and Left parties insisted on a discussion, leading to a 15-minute adjournment.

After the House resumed briefly and obituary references were made for former MPs, Dhankhar reiterated his decision not to entertain the notices. Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, one of the MPs who demanded a discussion, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of supporting Adani despite the global damage to India’s image. Dhankhar, at this point, ordered that Kharge’s remarks not be recorded.

As protests continued, Dhankhar adjourned the House for the day. In addition to the Adani issue, opposition members had submitted notices on other topics, including violence in Manipur, clashes in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, and the need for special assistance to flood-affected Wayanad in Kerala.

The Adani Group has denied all charges in the US indictment, calling them baseless.