Special session of Parliament announced to manage news cycle: Congress

The government has convened a five-day special session of Parliament from September 18 and 22

The Congress on Thursday said the government has announced a special session of Parliament to manage the news cycle that is dominated by fresh allegations against the Adani Group and will focus on the opposition bloc INDIA's meeting on Friday.

The demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the allegations against the Adani Group, however, will continue to resonate inside and outside Parliament, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The government has convened a five-day special session of Parliament from September 18 and 22, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said earlier on Thursday.

There was no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10.

"Managing the News Cycle, Modi style.

1. News today has been dominated by latest revelations on the Modani-scam.

2. Tomorrow the ever-growing INDIA parties meet in Mumbai," Ramesh said on X.

"How to counter? Announce a 5-day special session of Parliament when Monsoon session has just ended 3 weeks back. Regardless, the JPC demand will continue to resonate inside and outside Parliament," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)alleged hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded group stocks of billionaire Gautam Adani's group through Mauritius-based "opaque" investment funds managed by partners of promoter family, charges the conglomerate denied vehemently.

Shares of the Adani Group stocks fell after the report of the investigative reporting platform was made public.

The fresh allegations by the organisation funded by the likes of billionaire investor George Soros and Rockefeller Brothers Fund come months after a US short seller wiped away close to USD 150 billion in value of Adani Group stocks with allegations of accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and improper use of tax havens by the ports-to-energy conglomerate. The Adani Group has denied all Hindenburg allegations.