Rajya Sabha adjourns till 12 noon as oppn raises Adani bribery, other issues

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) Rajya Sabha proceedings on Monday were adjourned till 12 noon without transacting any business as opposition parties tried to raise the allegations of bribery against the Adani group, violence in UP's Sambhal district and other issues.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar disallowed 20 notices served under rule 267, including eight that had sought a discussion on the US indictment on the alleged payment of USD 265 million in bribes by the Adani group to secure solar power supply contracts.

Stating that the notices do not call for admittance, Dhankhar went on to equate the situation in Parliament, which has seen repeated adjournments since it met for the Winter Session on December 25, to Murphy's Law that states, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." "It appears that there exists a deliberate algorithm to actualise Murphy's laws in this august House, consequently impeding the proper functioning of Parliament. We find ourselves achieving precisely the antithesis of what our Constitution ordains," he said.

Dhankhar asked the opposition MPs to allow the House to take up the listed agenda for the day.

But the opposition MPs rose to their feet, seeking to raise the issues for which they had given notices under rule 267 seeking to set aside the proceedings to discuss them.

The chairman appealed to them in the name of the framers of the Constitution to allow the functioning of Parliament. "Don't make it dysfunctional," he said.

As the opposition parties continued to raise the issues, he adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon.

While Congress MPs sought to raise the charges against the Adani group, four notices were served by Samajwadi Party (SP) members to raise law and order issues in Sambhal.

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 the continued violence in Manipur, increase in crimes in Delhi, atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh 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. PTI ANZ IJT