Congress leads protest march of 17 Opposition parties to ED office; NCP, TMC boycott

New Delhi: Legislators from 17 Opposition parties led by the Congress on Wednesday took out a protest march from Parliament House to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office to hand over a memorandum over the Adani issue. Almost all Opposition parties jointly participated in the foot march which was however boycotted by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs.

Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party (SP), Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) participated in the march.

#WATCH | Delhi: Police make announcements at Vijay Chowk and inform the marching Opposition MPs to not march ahead as Section 144 CrPC is imposed and no agitation is allowed here.

The MPs are marching from Parliament to ED office. pic.twitter.com/cZ5FpIl6Zy

— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2023

The protest march took place amidst an impasse between Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition continued on the third day of the second phase of Budget Session with charges being traded over allegations against the Adani group and Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks in London.

We demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for investigation of Adani issue. However, the BJP doesn’t want a JPC as it will bring out the corruption & expose their real face. They wanted a JPC till they were in opposition, now they are scared: Leader of Congress in LS, AR… https://t.co/SD0tqdvfZQ pic.twitter.com/weccvD7xOY

— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2023

Heavy security was deployed both at Vijay Chowk and in front of the ED office in view of the protest march, and the marching legislators were stopped soon after they reached Vijay Chowk.

The Stand-off between the ruling BJP and the Congress continued for the third consecutive day leading to adjournment of proceedings of the both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha till 2 pm over government’s demand for an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his democracy in India remarks in London and criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Soon after the Rajya Sabha adjourned, all MPs from these 17 parties marched towards ED office.

Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha faced adjournment for the whole day on Monday and Tuesday too amid pandemonium as treasury benches sought apology from Gandhi’s remarks in London on democracy in India and the Opposition objecting the matter and demanding probe into the Adani Group by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

जिस प्रकार विपक्ष के एक वरिष्ठ नेता द्वारा, देश की अस्मिता को ठेस पहुंचाई गई है, उससे पूरा देश आक्रोश में है… pic.twitter.com/86TocOnPoi

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 14, 2023

In a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal on Tuesday raised the matter, pointing “this is the first time” when a Member of Parliament used words against the democracy of India while his visit outside the country, and sought his opology.

“He (Rahul Gandhi) should aplologise…,” Goyal had said.

However, the Opposition members had sought a probe into the Adani Group by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Tuesday, and accused the Centre of being silent on a report by a US firm that alleged stock manipulation and accounting fraud by the group.

During his address to the British parliamentarians in London recently, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the “functioning microphones of Opposition leaders in Parliament are often silenced.” He made several other allegations including on PM Modi, ‘attack of democracy’, and the China issue. In Cambridge, the Congress MP again alleged that the Opposition’s voice was being stifled in Parliament.