Adani storm continues to rock winter session

The Opposition's demand for a debate on the latest allegations against the Adani Group rocked both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, forced adjournments and washed out the third day of the winter session.

- Utkarsh Anand

Both the government and the Opposition dug their heels inside the House even as former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi and Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani forwarded legal arguments outside Parliament to argue that neither Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani nor his nephew Sagar were named in charges related to bribery or obstruction of justice under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The Opposition, however, rejected the claims and demanded a joint parliamentary committee investigation into "the entire Modani scam" and alleged it had "global ramifications".

The controversy arises amid a criminal indictment filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a civil complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Adani Group chairman and seven executives of his vast conglomerate.

The allegation is that the Solar Energy Corp of India entered into an agreement with the Adani Group to buy solar power at a certain price that it would then sell to the states, but that because it had agreed to buy the power at a high rate, no state was willing to sign a Power Sales Agreement (PSA) with it. Adani, the prosecutors allege, incentivised the states to sign the agreement.

The Adani Group has already dismissed the charges as baseless. But members of the INDIA bloc have repeatedly demanded an inquiry into the developments.

Soon after the Lok Sabha met on Wednesday, Opposition members, some of whom have tried to push adjournment motions, sought discussions on the Adani issues and the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district. Many MPs raised slogans and stormed the Well of the House even as Speaker Om Birla urged the members to allow Question Hour to run.