New Delhi, Nov 25, 2024, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Nov 25: Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day on Monday -- the opening day of Winter Session -- amid uproar by the opposition over Adani bribery charges and other issues.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha failed to transact any substantial business in the din. The session is scheduled to conclude on December 20.

As soon as the Lower House met for the day, opposition members demanded a probe into the allegations levelled against Adani group founder chairman Gautam Adani and others in a US court on charges of paying bribes to secure solar power supply contracts. The Adani group has denied all charges in the US indictment, calling them baseless.

They also shouted slogans against the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal.

In the Rajya Sabha too, the proceedings were adjourned for the day as opposition parties led by the Congress tried to raise the Adani issue.

Leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was among the seven that sought discussion on the Adani bribery issue, said if the listed business is suspended, the opposition parties can explain how the "very important" issue was impacting the entire country.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar disallowed 13 notices served under rule 267, including seven that sought a discussion on the US indictment on the alleged payment of USD 265 million in bribes. But the Congress and Left parties insisted on a discussion, forcing a 15-minute adjournment of proceedings.

As tempers ran high, he adjourned the House till Tuesday.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will meet again on Wednesday (November 27). There will be no sitting of Parliament on Tuesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Constituent Assembly's adoption of the Constitution in 1949.

Earlier, before the session commenced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the opposition, saying those rejected by people 80-90 times were trying to control Parliament by resorting to hooliganism for their own political gains.

Addressing reporters, he said such handful of people did not succeed in their intentions but people of the country observed their actions and punished them at an appropriate time.

"There should be a healthy debate in the Parliament but, unfortunately, certain individuals are trying to control Parliament for their own political gains, resorting to disruptions and chaos," Modi said. "Though their tactics ultimately fail, the people watch their behaviour closely and deliver justice when the time comes," he added.

During a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urged political parties to avoid ruckus in the House in the name of protests.

The Speaker appealed to the floor leaders of political parties to convey their dissent in a constructive manner.

Meanwhile, the BJP slammed the opposition parties and said it was not right on their part to stall Parliament proceedings in "retaliation" to their defeat in Maharashtra assembly elections and bypolls in other states.

"If you are frustrated over your defeat (in just concluded Maharashtra assembly polls and bypolls in various states), will you retaliate by not letting Parliament function? This is not right," senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in Parliament complex.

Union minister Giriraj Singh also flayed the opposition parties for forcing adjournment of the House, alleging that they deliberately create disturbance as they do not want Parliament to function. This is in a way an attack on the people, he told reporters.