INDIA bloc MPs hold protest over Adani issue on Parliament premises

NEW DELHI: MPs of several INDIA bloc parties protested on the Parliament premises on Tuesday over the Adani issue and reiterated their demand for a probe by a joint parliamentary committee into the matter.

MPs of the Congress, AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), DMK and the Left parties, among others, raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded accountability.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AAP's Sanjay Singh, RJD's Misa Bharti and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Sawant also participated in the protest on the steps leading to the Parliament's Makar Dwar.

In a post on Facebook, Gandhi said, "Protesting at Makar Dwar, Parliament complex, today, asking the real question: Who benefits from Adani's billions, Modi ji? The Prime Minister's silence speaks volumes."

The Congress and some other opposition parties have been demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe following the indictment of Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani and other company officials by US prosecutors on bribery and fraud charges.

However, some other opposition parties, especially the TMC, have not attached the same priority to the Adani row and from the start wanted Parliament to discuss a host of different issues, including unemployment, price rise and the Centre's alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in fund allocation.

The TMC has skipped opposition meetings on formulating the INDIA bloc's joint strategy during the session.

The Samajwadi Party has been attaching the highest priority to the Sambhal violence issue, which it raised in Parliament on Tuesday.

The Congress has said that Adani's indictment in a US court on bribery and fraud charges "vindicates" its demand for a JPC investigation into the various "scams" involving the billionaire industrialist's conglomerate.

Gandhi has sought Adani's immediate arrest.

The Adani Group has dismissed all allegations as "baseless".