Opposition turns up heat on Modi government with pan-India protests over Adani issue

US short-seller Hindenburg Research has accused the Adani Group of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation

The Opposition on Monday stepped up its attack on the Modi government as Congress workers hit the streets across the nation to protest against the Adani Group, whose seven listed firms saw another sell-off that drove their market loss to over Rs 2.92 lakh crore in under two weeks, demanding either a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a Supreme Court-led probe into the allegations against the comglomerate by Hindenburg Research.

Across the country, party workers protested outside SBI and LIC offices while in the Parliament, Opposition lawmakers stood with placards near the Gandhi statue, raising demands for a probe and discussion in the House.

Read | Opposition leaders hold protest in Parliament premises on Adani issue

Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned shortly after they began amid sloganeering by Opposition after the Chair did not take up the motion to suspend the business of the House.

In Karnataka, Congress workers held a protest in Bengaluru and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations of fraud levelled by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group.

In Delhi, the National Students Union of India, student wing of Congress, held a protest, while Congress workers staged a protest outside SBI office in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile in Maharashtra, protests took place outside an SBI office in Mumbai and in Chennai, Congress workers protested outside the LIC Southern Zonal Office in GP Road in Chennai.

At one of the protest sites in Mumbai, people held up banners with the words "Save SBI".

US short-seller Hindenburg Research has levelled serious allegations on the Adani Group, alleging improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation.

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The Adani group, one of India's top conglomerates, has rejected the criticism and denied wrongdoing in detailed rebuttals, but that has failed to arrest the unabated fall in its shares.

In the brutal fallout of Hindenburg's report, Adani group flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd was forced to abandon a Rs 1K crore share sale last week, and group chairman Gautam Adani lost his crown as Asia's richest person and slipped down the global rankings of the wealthy.

Also Read | In Hindenburg's masterclass, Adani flunks

Adani has denied allegations by Modi's opponents that he had benefited from their close ties, and Modi's government has denied allegations of favouring Adani.

As Adani shares spiralled lower and cast a pall over Indian markets last week, lawmakers disrupted parliament and demanded an inquiry.

(With agency inputs)