First day of Parliament Winter Session: After Opposition ruckus, both Houses adjourned for a day

Those rejected by people 80-90 times do not allow discussions in Parliament: PM Modi

New Delhi: The Winter Session of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day after protests by Opposition parties, led by the Congress, minutes after proceedings began this morning. The sessions will reconvene on Nov. 27.

Lok Sabha, under the presiding officer MP Sandhya Ray, was adjourned shortly after convening at noon. Congress and other Opposition parties raised slogans and demanded a discussion on the violence in Manipur and the bribery allegations against the Adani Group in the US.

Recently, Gautam Adani, one of the world’s wealthiest men, and seven others were indicted by US prosecutors for fraud in a 265-million-dollar scheme involving bribing Indian officials to secure power-supply deals. The Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless. There will be no session on Tuesday, Nov. 26, due to Constitution Day observances.

Protests over Adani issue

The proceedings in Rajya Sabha were also adjourned after opposition MPs staged protests over the Adani bribery allegations. They called for a discussion on the issue. The Upper House will now meet again on Nov. 27.

Earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the session for an hour to pay tributes to departed members, including two MPs who were elected earlier this year. However, the session was adjourned again at noon following further protests by opposition members.

PM Modi flays disruption

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his customary address to the media ahead of the session, took a dig at the Opposition, saying that parties rejected by the people during elections continue to disrupt parliamentary proceedings.

Without mentioning Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi by name, Modi said, “Those rejected by the people 80-90 times do not allow discussions in Parliament. They do not understand the aspirations of the people. I hope new members from every party get the chance to share their ideas in this Winter Session of Parliament,” said Modi.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of this session as it coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, which will be celebrated tomorrow (Nov. 26).

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on X, demanded that the government initiate a detailed discussion on the Adani issue. He stated, “The Adani saga has the potential to tarnish India’s image on the global stage, and the Government must address this in Parliament.”