Adani row: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge calls it 'a big scam'

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said his party will keep raising the Adani issue inside and outside Parliament and added that if the government does not work democratically people will get rid of itAddressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here Kharge posed a set of 10 questions to the government on various issues including a controversy involving the business group headed by industrialist Gautam Adani and the expunging of certain remarks made by party leader Rahul Gandhi and him in ParliamentAlleging that the Adani scam is a huge one involving public money he wondered why is the government reluctant to order a joint parliamentary committee JPC probe into itKharge said he had not said anything unparliamentary in his speech in the Rajya Sabha and only asked certain questions on the Adani issue Why is the Modi government not conducting a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations against the Adani Group What is the reason behind Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and his government not even allowing anyone to raise the word Adani in Parliament he askedWhy are the RBI the SEBI the ED the SFIO the corporate affairs ministry the IT department and the CBI paralysed So many scams have happened and why are they still silent They only see other people but not him Adani the Congress president alleged Modiji is now using our Parliament like a washing machine to wash the scams of his friend Kharge later alleged in a tweet in HindiHe said it is the oppositions job to ask questions of the government The people of the country have elected parliamentarians and it is their responsibility to protect peoples money and rights and ask the government questions on the impact of scams on common people he addedBut they did not agree to the formation of a JPC nor allowed us to raise the issue in Parliament and that is why our people are agitated We will keep asking questions of the government in parliamentary democracy But the government does not want to allow Parliament to function democratically and is talking of autocracy If the government is not ready to work democratically and talks of autocracy and dictatorship people will get rid of it the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha saidShouldnt the falling value of the LICs money invested in Adanis companies be questioned Shouldnt questions be asked about the Rs 82000crore loan given to Adani by the SBI State bank of India and other banks Shouldnt questions be asked as to why Rs 525 crore of the LIC and the SBI were invested in Adanis FPO despite a morethan32per cent fall in Adanis shares Shouldnt questions be asked as to why the value of the LICs and SBIs shares fell by more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the stock market Kharge askedAlso read Adani Group hires US law firm in fight against Hindenburg ReportIs it a fact that Frances Total Gas has stopped its USD 50 billion investment in Adanis company pending the completion of an investigation against Adani Has the worlds largest equity investor Norway Sovereign Fund sold all Adani shares worth USD 200 millionHas the MSCI downgraded the ranking of Adanis companies Have Standard Chartered City Group Credit Suisse stopped lending against Adanis dollar bonds Has Dow Jones removed Adanis companies from the Sustainability Indices he asked What is the reason that Modiji and his entire government do not allow even the utterance of the word Adani in Parliament Kharge asked adding that the country demands answers to these questionsThe Congress chief said he has written to the Rajya Sabha chairman over the expunging of his remarks By merely expunging his remarks the allegations made by people and the media will not be cleared he added On his remarks in the Rajya Sabha and that of Gandhi in the Lok Sabha being expunged Kharge said You can well imagine what is going on in the name of democracy He said he was the floor leader in the Lok Sabha for five years and the leader and the deputy leader in the Karnataka Assembly but had never seen verses or words like washing machine being expungedThe entire opposition is together on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani issue There is unity on this and everyone wants to save the country and protect poor peoples wealth he saidAsked about the Rajya Sabha chairmans role Kharge said I dont want to say anything you have seen it for yourself If I say something they will say I am raising questions on the chairman I have great respect for him We want parliamentary democracy and that is why we are moving with sensitivityCongress leader Jairam Ramesh also alleged that Parliament TV blacks out whatever Opposition demands and does Yesterday Chairman of the Rajya Sabha chided the Leader of Opposition for not elevating level of the debate He is of course silent at the way the Jagadguru of Jhoot debased it completely with cheap personal swipes at his opponents Chanting ModiChalisa does not elevate debates the former Union minister wrote on TwitterAdani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after USbased shortselling firm Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations including fraudulent transactions and shareprice manipulation against the business conglomerateThe Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirementsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever