The first day of the winter session of Parliament got washed out amid Opposition slogans demanding a discussion on the bribery charges brought against industrialist Gautam Adani and others by the US department of justice and the violence in the Uttar Pradesh town of Sambhal that has claimed four lives.

Opposition members stormed the Well of the Lok Sabha on Monday shouting “Adani, Adani” and “Sambhal is burning”. As the protests escalated, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings for the day in the afternoon.

Pramod Tiwari, deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, had said at a combined Opposition meeting on Sunday: “The whole of the Opposition proposed (at an earlier all-party meeting) a discussion on the bribe allegations against the Adani group. The charge is on Adani, but the BJP is feeling the pain.”

The Opposition had filed adjournment motions on Adani and Sambhal, seeking to suspend the day’s business to address these issues.

“The US indictment of Gautam Adani casts a dark cloud over the Adani Group…. The Modi government’s silence on this matter undermines India’s integrity, economy and global reputation. Accountability must be ensured and PM Modi must answer...,” the adjournment notice by Congress MP Manickam Tagore said. The Speaker rejected the notices.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, along with his party MPs, met Speaker Om Birla in his chamber seeking a discussion on the Sambhal violence in the Lok Sabha. Speaking to reporters later, Akhilesh accused some BJP members of deliberately targeting a mosque and fomenting trouble in Sambhal in their pursuit of becoming “big leaders”.

Earlier in the day, BJP members greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the slogan “Ek hain toh safe hain (We are safe if united)” as he walked into the Lok Sabha minutes before the day’s proceedings began.

Modi had raised the slogan while campaigning in Maharashtra. After the BJP-led Mahayuti’s landslide victory, he had termed the slogan the “maha mantra” ofthe country.

In his customary statement ahead of the winter session, the Prime Minister slammed a section of Opposition members, accusing a handful of MPs (whose parties have been) “rejected by the people” of resorting to hooliganism to control Parliament.

"Some Opposition members behave very responsibly and wish that the House functions smoothly. Those who have been continuously rejected by the public and ignore the words of their colleagues, disrespect their feelings and disrespect the feelings of democracy," Modi said.

The Rajya Sabha, too, failed to transact any business because of protests by Opposition members after the rejection of their motion for substantive discussions on issues related to alleged bribery and corruption by the Adani group, the Manipur violence, and the Sambhal flare-up.

As the Upper House assembled, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said 13 notices had been received seeking suspension of business for the day to discuss the three issues.

He said the notices did not conform to his earlier ruling. In December 2022, Dhankhar had asked the members to indicate under which rule they were seeking the suspension of business and the premise for seeking such action under that rule.

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who had moved a motion in the Rajya Sabha on Monday for a discussion on the charges against the Adani group, said the issue was important and must be discussed in Parliament.

But Dhankhar ruled out any discussion. As he tried to go ahead with the day's listed business, Opposition members rushed into the Well to protest. The House was briefly adjourned. Later, Dhankhar adjourned the House for the entire day as the protests continued.