Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day over Congress-Soros 'links' storm

Nadda, without naming Congress leader Sonia Gandhi who was present in the Rajya Sabha, questioned her role as 'co-chair of an organisation funded by Soros' in destabilising the country.

New Delhi: Parliament on Tuesday witnessed another day of turmoil leading to a washout of proceedings after ruling BJP accused the Congress leadership of colluding with US billionaire George Soros to destabilise India while the Opposition returned fire raising the Adani issue.

Lok Sabha, which saw the introduction of The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, and Rajya Sabha saw little business as both sides were aggressive vocally and both Houses were adjourned for the day a little after 12 noon. 

In Rajya Sabha, Leader of House JP Nadda launched an attack on the Congress during Question Hour dragging the names of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and former party chief Sonia Gandhi, claiming that they were part of groups that worked against the interests of the country.

He alleged Rahul has become a "tool" by repeating the claims of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to bring instability in the country. He also alleged that Sonia who was present in the House, is part of Forum for Democratic Leaders of Asia Pacific, which advocates secession of Jammu and Kashmir.

Amid Opposition protests, Nadda claimed that the Congress leadership should come clean on their leadership with such organisations.

Congress Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Pramod Tiwari rejected the allegations claiming Nadda was misleading the House while alleging that Adani group paid Rs 2,300 crore as bribes, as stated by a US Attorney and demanded a discussion on it.

DMK floor leader Tiruchi Siva demanded that the Chairman should remove remarks made against Rahul, who is a member of Lok Sabha, from the records. As the protest continued, Dhankhar adjourned the House for the day. Earlier during Zero Hour, Dhankhar had adjourned the House till 12 noon.

Lok Sabha saw Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju making the allegation against the Congress leadership, which led to vociferous protests from the Opposition benches. He also attacked the Congress accusing it of damaging the dignity of Parliament through organising protests in the premises.

Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also found fault with the protests by the Opposition.

"Ours is the largest democracy in the world and it fulfils the hopes and aspirations of the people. Agreement and disagreement are part of the healthy democratic process. We all have to maintain the dignity of the House. But I have seen that in the last few days, protests have taken place in premises with objectionable slogans and posters, which were not good. It was noticed that even senior leaders took part in these incidents, which was not good,” he said.

He said both opposition or ruling party members should maintain dignity and work in such a way that a positive message goes out of Parliament.