Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid oppn protests on Adani row, Sambhal violence
New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday amid protests by opposition members over the Adani indictment row, recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and other issues. As soon as the House reconvened at 12 noon after the first adjournment, opposition members rushed into the Well and started raising slogans and issues of the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a US court on bribery charges and the Sambhal violence.
While some members were in the Well, others stood in the aisle and raised slogans. Amid the din, the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, was introduced by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
The BJP's Sandhya Ray, who was in the Chair, urged the protesting members to allow the House to function. She pointed out that voters of the country were watching and their issues must be raised.
With the opposition members not relenting, Ray adjourned the House for the day. When the House convened at 11 am, opposition members rushed into the Well to demand a discussion on the issues being raised by them.
Speaker Om Birla asked them to allow the Question Hour and said they could take up their issues later. Amid the din, one question was taken up. However, the opposition members ignored the speaker's pleas, following which he adjourned the House till 12 noon.
The Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out last week as well due to protests by the opposition members on the same issues. Before the House assembled, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was seen speaking to Congress leader K C Venugopal near the opposition benches. Congress member Gaurav Gogoi and DMK leader T R Baalu were also present.
After the first adjournment, some of the opposition leaders including Congress' Venugopal, DMK's Baalu, TMC's Kalyan Banerjee and Samajwadi Party members Dharmendra Yadav and Zia ur Rehman Barq were seen going to the speaker's office together.
The Adani Group has maintained that Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar have not been charged with any violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment filed by US authorities in a New York court in the bribery case.