New Delhi: The march by MPs of about 18 Opposition parties from the Parliament to the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was cut short on Wednesday with police stopping them at Vijay Chowk. Not being allowed to proceed any further the protesting MPs returned to the Parliament complex.
Speaking to reporters Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge that police did not allow the MPs of around 18 Opposition parties to proceed any further in their march to the ED office to submit a complaint to the Central agency demanding a thorough probe into the Adani issue.
" Mps of nearly 18 Opposition parties wanted to submit a complaint to the ED authorities seeking a thorough probe into the Adani issue. But the Central government did not allow us to proceed further and police stopped us at Vijay Chowk," said Kharge. He also said that they will keep trying to take the march forward.
However, according to the police, the march by Opposition MPs was stopped as prohibitory orders under Section 144 were imposed in the area.
Speaking to reporters Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari alleged that police forcibly stopped around 200 MPs from Opposition parties from marching towards the ED parties to submit a complaint to them seeking a probe into the Adani issue.
Earlier in the day the party leader met at the office of the Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in the Parliament complex to chalk out their joint strategy on how to go ahead with the issue. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in view of the march.
The government and the Opposition have been at loggerheads over the Adani issue with the opposition demanding a JPC investigation into the Adani-Hindenburg issue. Parliament proceedings have witnessed repeated disruptions over the issue.
Earlier, in the day both House was adjourned till 2 pm with the BJP demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi over his 'democracy in danger' speech in the UK and the Congress hitting back demanding a JPC probe into the Adani Group stock manipulation issue.
US short-seller Hindenburg Research had accused the Adani group of being "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud", and using offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.
However, the Adani Group had denied the allegations as a "calculated attack on India". The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, staged a separate protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises over the LPG price rise and demanded an explanation from the BJP government at the Centre over the issue.
