Indian parliament disrupted over Adani bribery claims

India's parliament has been suspended after opposition MPs disrupted it demanding a discussion over bribery allegations against the Adani Group and Adani dollar bond prices fell to almost one-year lows as investors and lenders weighed the case. The Indian conglomerate's billionaire chairman, Gautam Adani, and seven other people were last week charged by US authorities with agreeing to pay about $US265 million in bribes to Indian government officials. The charges related to alleged payments to obtain contracts that could yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, as well as to develop India's largest solar power project. The charges also included making misleading statements to the public despite being made aware of the US investigation in 2023. The Adani Group has said the accusations as well as those levelled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case are baseless and that it will seek "all possible legal recourse". Indian opposition parties, who have consistently targeted Adani for what they say is his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had said last week they would raise the issue in parliament when it met on Monday. "As the parliament session begins, the first step the government should take is to have a detailed discussion on the Adani saga which has the potential of tarnishing India's image at the global stage," Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the main opposition Congress party, posted on X just as proceedings began in the upper house of parliament. This was the demand of the opposition alliance, as the "hard-earned investments" of tens of millions of retail investors were at stake, Kharge said. Jagdeep Dhankhar, the vice-president of India and the chairman of the upper house, said he had received 13 notices from MPs demanding a discussion on the Adani issue but he could not allow them because they did not conform to rules. Dhankhar asked Kharge to speak but was interrupted by MPs pressing their demand for a discussion, causing him to suspend the chambers briefly and later for the rest of the day. Similar scenes played out in the lower house, forcing the Speaker to suspend business for the day there as well. Hundreds of activists belonging to the Congress party also demonstrated near parliament to demand the immediate arrest of Adani. Indian opposition parties have in the past accused Modi's government of protecting and favouring Adani and his businesses, charges both deny. Modi's opponents say he has longstanding ties with Adani, going back nearly two decades to when Modi was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, to which Adani also belongs. They accuse the government of favouring the group in business deals, charges the government has rejected as "wild allegations". The government has not commented on the indictment but Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has said it is for the Adani Group to deal with and defend itself, and the law will take its course. The disruption in parliament came as Adani dollar bond prices fell as investors cut their exposure to the conglomerate and some bankers considered pausing fresh lending after the indictment.