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Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha faced adjournments over Adani issue and other matters for the second working day of the winter session, with the two Houses of Parliament not transacting any substantial business.
Opposition members in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha pressed for discussion on the Adani issue, Sambhal violence and Manipur situation. Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon and then for the day. Rajya Sabha was first adjourned till 11.30 am and later for the day. Opposition MPs gave notices for adjournment motion notices over their issues. Adani Group has refuted the alleged bribery allegations made in the United States. Adani Green Energy Ltd said in a statement that media articles which state "that certain of our directors namely Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vineet Jaain have been charged with violation(s) of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment. Such statements are incorrect." "Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC," AEGL said in a filing. The filing states that the DoJ Indictment, which has five counts, does not have any mention of and has excluded Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani or Vneet Jaain in Count One: ''Conspiracy to Violate the FCPA'; neither does it have mention of these three names in Count Five: "Conspiracy to obstruct justice" Congress and other opposition parties, however, kept insisting on a discussion on the issue of US indictment. "You think Adani is going to accept the charges? Obviously he is going to deny the charges. The point is that he has to be arrested as we have said. Hundreds of people are being arrested on tiny charges and the gentleman (Gautam Adani) has been indicted in the United States for thousands of crores, he should be in jail and the Government is protecting him," Rahul Gandhi alleged. Congress MP Randeep Surjewala asked why the government was against a discussion on Adani issue. "Repeatedly adjourning the Parliament cannot be in the national interest. Discussion on corruption is in the national interest...What does the govt have against a discussion on this issue? Why is the government afraid of the word 'Adani'?...There should be a discussion in Parliament on the Sambhal incident and violence in Manipur...It is important that there is discussion in Parliament and accountability is fixed," Surjewala said. Party MP Karti Chidambaram said opposition parties should be allowed to raise their issues. "It is unfortunate that the Houses get adjourned so frequently without transacting business. The government and the speaker must allow us to raise the issues, particularly the adjournment issues... We want to talk about Manipur, the incident in Uttar Pradesh, the indictment of a large business house, and other pressing issues," Chidambaram said. Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the government should answer the questions being raised by opposition parties. "The onus of running the House is on the government, and if the opposition is asking any questions, then it is their duty to answer them... Answer the questions that the opposition is asking so that they do not get a chance to create a ruckus. And the issues of the public, the issue of farmers, unemployment is a big issue, inflation is an issue; in my state our capital is being snatched from us, our water is being snatched from us, our Punjab University elections are not being held. Where should I raise these issues, so the public money is being wasted." she said. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, who replied to a few queries amid din in the Lok Sabha, called for stricter laws to curb the "vulgar content" in social media, stating that there was a difference in the culture of India and the countries these social media platforms have come from. "There is a lot of difference between the culture of our country and the countries from where these social media platforms have come. So this kind of debate has been raised in a lot of other countries. So I would like the Standing Committee of the Parliament to take up this issue and strict laws are made regarding the same," he said. Vaishnaw noted that the issue is due to the end of the "editorial check" made on the content, which has played a role in the "uncontrolled expression" of the vulgar content. The winter session of Parliament commenced on Monday and will continue till December 20. (ANI)
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