Rajya Sabha proceedings were briefly adjourned on Monday as the opposition parties led by the Congress tried to raise the indictment of Adani group founder chairman Gautam Adani and others in a US court on charges of allegedly paying bribes to secure solar power supply contracts.
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.
Soon after listed papers were laid on the table of the House and obituary references read out on the death of former MPs, Dhankhar said he had received 13 notices under rule 267 but was not convinced to accept them.
Leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was among the seven that sought a 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.
The image of the country has been tarnished globally and yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi was supporting Adani, he alleged.
At this point, Dhankhar ordered that nothing that Kharge says will go on record.
But as the opposition parties persisted, he adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.
The other notices under rule 267, which calls for suspending the listed business of the House to take up discussion on the issue being sought to be raised, pertained to continued violence in Manipur, violent clashes in UP's Sambhal district and special assistance to the flood-hit Wayanad district of Kerala.
The Adani group has denied all charges in the US indictment, calling them baseless.
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