NEW DELHI: India’s lower house of parliament suspended proceedings for a second day on Wednesday after disruption by lawmakers calling for a discussion of US accusations of bribery and fraud against the ports-to-power Adani Group.
Gautam Adani, the billionaire founder of the conglomerate, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others have been charged for their alleged roles in a $265-million scheme to bribe Indian officials to win solar power supply deals in five regions.
The Adani Group has denied the charges as “baseless” and vowed to “seek all possible legal recourse”. Indian opposition parties, especially the Congress, have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and blocking investigations against him in India.
They deny the accusations.
Parliament proceedings were disrupted for the second day since the winter session began this week, with members shouting slogans and demanding discussion of the Adani allegations. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vocal critic of Adani, said Gautam Adani should be arrested.
“The gentleman has been indicted in the United States … and the government is protecting him,” Gandhi told reporters outside parliament.
The government has made no comment on the indictment but the ruling BJP has distanced itself from the controversy.
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The BJP had no reason to defend Gautam Adani, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“Let him defend himself,” said the spokesperson, Gopal Krishna Agarwal. “We are not against industrialists. We consider them as partners in nation-building. But the law will take its own course if they do something wrong.”
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