New Delhi, Nov 24, 2024, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Nov 24: The Winter Session of Parliament commences on Monday under the shadow of Adani bribery issue which the opposition will use as its cannon fodder to pillory the government.
At the customary all-party meeting, the opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the US prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group.
The main opposition Congress demanded discussions on the Adani issue on "priority" apart from a host of other matters, including the Manipur unrest.
Congress' Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, said the Adani issue smacked of as a scam. The government should not reject or ignore their demand on any "technicality" as it concerns Indian institutions and investors.
Billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, whose conglomerate includes a host of companies covering power to ports sectors, has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange of favourable terms for solar power contracts in four Indian states. The Adani Group has, however, denied the charge, saying the allegations levelled by the US prosecutors are baseless and that the conglomerate is compliant with all laws.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government appealed to all the parties to ensure smooth conduct of business in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
Forty-two leaders from 30 parties attended the meeting which was chaired by senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. BJP President J P Nadda, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal and LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti, among others, were present.
The government has listed 16 bills for consideration in the Winter Session scheduled to be held from November 25 to December 20.