Opposition MPs to corner Modi government over no mention of Adani issue in President's address

The Opposition has made it clear that it is not going to give the govt an easy way out for making LIC and SBI invest in Adani Group

Five Opposition MPs will move amendments to "regret" the omission of Adani Group episode in the President's Address to the joint sitting of Parliament when the voting on Motion of Thanks takes place in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha next week.

The Opposition has made it abundantly clear that it is not going to give the government an easy way out for making LIC and SBI invest in Adani Group, which they accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring for years.

It has raised the tempo on the issue inside and outside Parliament by seeking a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee or Supreme Court and demanding a discussion in Lok Sabha and Rajya, accusing the Narendra Modi government of pressuring LIC and SBI to invest in Adani Group.

Also Read | Modi government distances itself from Adani’s troubled Bangladesh deal

Congress MPs Kodikkunnil Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi and Jebi Mather, Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy and CPI(M)'s PR Natarajan have submitted amendments to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address against the backdrop of Hindenburg Research's report accusing the conglomerate of stock manipulation and fraud.

These four are part of 302 amendments -- 196 in Lok Sabha and 106 in Rajya Sabha -- approved by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats. Altogether 40 MPs -- 24 in Lok Sabha and 16 in Rajya Sabha -- have amendments listed for tabling it during voting.

Gogoi's amendment "regret" that there is no mention of the "big investment of a public sector entity in the Follow on Public Offer of a corporate house allegedly involved in stock market manipulation," while Roy's amendment read, "regret that there is no mention in the address about the loss of lakhs of crores of rupees of lakhs of investors due to the publication of a report about a corporate house."

Also Read | Adani crisis worsens as investors flee; Opposition demands probe

Suresh’s amendment was about the President’s Address not mentioning the “heavy losses” suffered by public sector entities due to the Adani Group episode.

Natarajan wanted the amendment as there was "no clarification by the government" on the allegation of stock fudging and "resultant loss of some public sector entities due to their high exposure". Mather's amendment read, "but regret that the Address does not mention about the measures to safeguard the hard-earned savings of common man invested in banking/insurance institutions in the public sector".

Opposition leaders said they have not decided yet on pressing for voting on these amendments, as the numbers are not in its favour, and a decision will be taken later.

Other amendments included those on the India-China border row, unemployment, price rise, agrarian crisis, MGNREGA, passing of the Women's Reservation Bill and GST.

Those who have submitted amendments also included CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader Elamaram Kareem, RSP Lok Sabha MP NK Premachandran, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, AAP's Raghav Chadha, CPI's Binoy Vishwam and P Sandosh Kumar and Congress's T N Prathapan and V K Sreekandan.