Congress members give adjournment notices in LS to discuss Adani crisis, border skirmish

NEW DELHI: Congress members Manickam Tagore and Manish Tewari on Thursday gave adjournment notices in the Lok Sabha to discuss the Adani Group issue and Chinese transgressions along the border.

Tagore, the party's whip in Lok Sabha, said there is an emergency situation due to diminishing shares of the Adani group.

"This was followed by the Hindenburg report. A significant volume of public money through SBI and LIC is locked in the Adani Group. It is pertinent to discuss the matter immediately in the House, leaving aside routine business. The finance minister should disclose the actual condition of the loss and steps initiated by the government to save public money," he said in his notice.

The House should come forward to discuss this matter and direct the government to act accordingly, he said.

Tewari, the Lok Sabha member from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, said in his notice that the House suspend Zero Hour and other businesses of the day to have a detailed discussion on the border situation with China.

"Since April 2020, China has engaged in what can only be described as a steady land grab. Till January 16 this year, 17 rounds of commander-level talks have taken place between India and China with little success," he said.

Tewari said all the while China continues to build significant infrastructure, including bridges, roads and accommodation, for its troops.

"China is attempting to unilaterally change the status quo. The clashes in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh were another indication of China's steady aggression aimed at changing the status quo on the border."

What is more, such aggression is no longer limited in territorial scope as is evidenced by the clashes which took place in Arunachal Pradesh, around 2,000 km away from the place of previous clashes. There is growing concern that China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante, a situation that puts India at a massive disadvantage," the he said.

Despite this, the Congress leader said, China's large trade surplus with India has continued to surge since the military confrontations began in 2020.

"The trade deficit for India stood at USD 101.02 billion, crossing the 2021 figure of USD 69.38 billion.

I urge the government to take this matter with utmost seriousness and have a detailed discussion in Parliament with regard to the border situation with China," he said, urging the Speaker to take up his notice.