NEW DELHI: New Delhi: Legislators from 17 Opposition parties led by the Congress on Wednesday embarked on a protest march from Parliament House to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office to hand over a memorandum over the Adani issue.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Legislators skipped the march joined by nearly all opposition parties.
Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party, Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Rashtriya Lok Dal, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India United Democratic Front, Indian Union Muslim League, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) participated in the march.
On the third day of the second part of Budget Session, while accusations against the Adani group and Rahul Gandhi's recent comments in London were being traded, a standoff between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition persisted.
Tight security was placed in both at Vijay Chowk and in front of the ED office in view of the protest march, and the marching legislators were stopped soon after they reached Vijay Chowk.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha sessions were adjourned until 2:00 p.m. as a result of the government's demand that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi apologise for his remarks on India's democracy and criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made in London on the third day in a row. All MPs from these 17 parties marched in the direction of the ED office shortly after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned.
Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha had to be adjourned for the entire day on Monday and Tuesday as a result of the commotion caused by the opposition's objection to Gandhi's remarks about Indian democracy in London and the Treasury benches' request for an apology.
Rajya Sabha Leader Piyush Goyal brought up the issue on Tuesday, pointing out that "this is the first time" a Member of Parliament used remarks against the democracy of India while on a visit outside of the nation, and he demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi. Goyal said that Rahul Gandhi should apologise.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, legislators of the Opposition demanded that the Adani Group be investigated by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), accusing the Centre of remaining mute on a report by a US firm that claimed the group had engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that "working microphones of Opposition leaders in Parliament are often muffled" during a recent speech to British lawmakers in London. He also levelled accusations against Prime Minister Modi, the "assault on democracy," and the China issue. The Congress MP asserted once more in Cambridge that the voice of the opposition was being muffled in Parliament.
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