Opposition seeks to raise Adani issue; Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Lok Sabha proceeding was adjourned till 2 pm Thursday amid noisy scenes in the House as opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion on the report of Hindenburg Research on the Adani Group

Lok Sabha proceeding was adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday amid noisy scenes in the House as opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion on the report of US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani Group.

Members of almost all opposition parties rushed to the Well of the House raising slogans on the tanking of Adani Group scrips on the stock exchange and sought a probe into the business practices of the corporate giant.

Earlier, Speaker Om Birla welcomed a Parliamentary delegation from Zambia and started Question Hour.

Objecting to the noisy scenes, he asked the members not to make unsubstantiated claims and said Question Hour was an important part of Parliamentary proceedings which should not be disrupted.

As the slogan shouting continued, the Speaker adjourned House proceedings till 2 pm.

Ahead of Parliament proceedings, leaders of several opposition parties met to evolve a joint strategy to take on the Central government during the Budget Session and decided to seek a discussion on the Adani Group issue.

Leaders of like-minded parties met in the chamber of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge. Leaders of the Congress, DMK, TMC, SP, JD(U), Shiv Sena, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, IUML, NC, AAP and the Kerala Congress were present at the meeting.

Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group.

The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. It termed the Hindenburg report baseless and threatened to sue the short seller.

On Wednesday night, Adani Enterprises announced that it has decided not to go ahead with its Rs 20,000-crore follow-on Public Offer (FPO) and will return the proceeds to investors.