Adani Controversy: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday reiterated that his party will continue to raise the Adani issue both inside and outside Parliament. He insisted that if the government was not prepared to function democratically, “the people would get rid of it”.
Kharge’s 10 questions
Kharge posed a set of 10 questions to the government on various issues including the Adani controversy and deletion of some of his and Rahul Gandhi’s comments in Parliament at a press conference at the party headquarters, New Delhi.
Alleging that the Adani affair was a “huge scam” involving public money and needed to be probed properly, he asked why the government was reluctant to order a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into it. .
Kharge said he had not said anything unparliamentary in his speech in the Rajya Sabha and had only asked a few questions on the Adani issue.
“Why isn’t the Modi government conducting a joint parliamentary committee inquiry into the allegations against the Adani group? What is the reason behind (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji and his government not allowing the word ‘Adani’ to be raised in Parliament? ?” He asked.
He alleged, “Why are RBI, SEBI, ED, SFIO, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, IT and CBI paralyzed? So many scams have happened and why are they still silent. They only see other people but do not see him (Adani).
“Modi ji is now using our Parliament like a washing machine to wash his friend’s scams,” Kharge alleged in a tweet in Hindi.
The Congress President said that it is the job of the opposition to ask questions to the government. He said people have elected MPs and it is their responsibility to protect people’s money and their rights and question the government on the impact of scams on common people.
“But they did not agree to the JPC and did not allow us to raise the issue in Parliament and that is why our people are agitated,” he said. We will keep asking questions to the government in a parliamentary democracy. But the government does not want to allow the parliament to function in a democratic way and is talking about autocracy. If the government is not ready to work in a democratic manner and talks of autocracy and dictatorship, then people will get rid of it,” said Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
He said that he had written to the Rajya Sabha Chairman to remove his remarks. He said that mere removal of his comment would not clear the allegations leveled by the people and the media.
On his remarks in the Rajya Sabha and the expulsion of Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, he said, “You can well imagine what is happening in the name of democracy.”
He said that he was Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha for five years and leader and deputy leader in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, but he never saw verses or words like “washing machine” being erased.
“The entire opposition is united in demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani case. There is unity on this issue and everyone wants to save the country and protect the wealth of poor people,” he said.
When asked about the role of Rajya Sabha Chairman, Kharge said, “I don’t want to say anything, you have seen yourself… If I say something, they will say that I am questioning the Chairman… My mind I have a lot of respect for him. We want parliamentary democracy and hence we are moving forward with sensitivity.
Shares of Adani Group have come under pressure on the stock market following several allegations by Hindenburg Research against the business group, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation. The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as false, adding that it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.