The Winter Session of Parliament began on a stormy note on Monday with proceedings in both Houses adjourned after the Opposition’s demands for a discussion on the US indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani for his alleged role in a bribery scheme were rejected by the presiding officers.

In the Rajya Sabha, MPs also submitted notices to discuss the violence in Manipur and Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, where four people died on Sunday in violence that broke out after a survey team showed up at a prominent mosque in the area.  On Monday, the police booked SP Sambhal MP Zia ur Rahman Barq, and Suhel Iqbal, the son of SP MLA Nawab Iqbal Mohammed, for allegedly provoking the protesters.

In an interview, SP’s Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan, who is from Sambhal district, talks about the protests in Parliament on Monday, what his party plans to do on the Sambhal issue, and the INDIA alliance.

Excerpts:

What happened over the Opposition’s demand regarding the bribery allegations against the Adani Group?

The notice on the Adani matter was submitted by the Congress. Kharge ji (Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge) wanted to speak on the matter but the Chairman (Jagdeep Dhankhar) did not allow it. Secondly, two other members and I gave an adjournment notice on the issue of the police firing in Sambhal. But all the notices were rejected.

The BJP is arguing that the Adani Group is a private business conglomerate and that it would deal with the matter itself.

When an inquiry can be done in another country, why are agencies regulating such matters in India not active on it? And even if the matter concerns only a private group, the money involved in it belongs to the country. Why won’t a discussion be held on this and why can’t the government and Parliament not take cognizance if there is a possibility of a major loss? The money belongs to the country and its people.

What will be your move in the House on the Sambhal issue in the coming days?

We will explore if any judicial remedy is possible. We are in consultation with legal experts. We will raise the issue in Parliament too.

The NDA won seven of the nine Assembly bypolls in UP, including Kundarki, which was a big loss for your party. 

Everything is clear. Several videos surfaced from Meerapur, Kundarki, Majhawan, Phulpur, and Kanpur (Sisamau) showing the misuse of government machinery on a large scale. Genuine voters were not allowed to cast votes and bogus voting took place. The evidence appeared in the media and social media and we demanded repoll in three constituencies. But this demand and the evidence were not accepted. This is ‘nakli jeet (fake win)’ of the BJP. Any agency can go and check the ink marks on the fingers of voters in these constituencies. Only 10% of the voters will have that mark in Kundarki. People have not cast their vote there. The police, the administration, and RSS workers were behind the bogus voting.

After the INDIA bloc’s defeat in Haryana and Maharashtra, questions are being raised about the Congress’s role. The TMC said Mamata Banerjee must be recognised as a leader of the alliance. Do you agree?

No one party should be blamed. The INDIA bloc as a whole should rethink its strategy. Is it an alliance or not? Is this alliance existing only in the media or is it on the ground too? If alliance partners are not given due respect and due share, then what is the point of this alliance? If there is no common agenda, then what is this alliance? Is the INDIA bloc only a platform for seat-sharing or is it a political-ideological alliance? We must think afresh. This alliance should be run politically and ideologically, and if there is no wish to run it that way, and only seat-sharing has to be done, then such an alliance has no benefits.

ASER 2024 | Reading, math skills improve: What explains theSubscriber Only

How Pune’s 6-year-old survived Guillain-Barré SyndromeSubscriber Only

TN meets Jharkhand meets Tripura in PM’s Vadnagar schoolSubscriber Only

Why Trump wants to buy GreenlandSubscriber Only

In our Constitution, two competing visions of powerSubscriber Only

At home with Irfan Habib: The History KeeperSubscriber Only

Republic Day: How the passport mapped the journey of IndiaSubscriber Only

A creeping horror about how politics distorts the personal

Lalmani is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, and is based in New Delhi. He covers politics of the Hindi Heartland, tracking BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RLD and other parties based in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Covered the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024; Assembly polls of 2012, 2017 and 2022 in UP along with government affairs in UP and Uttarakhand. ... Read More