Opposition parties Thursday sought a debate in Parliament and a probe by a joint committee into the fraud-allegation-triggered rout in Adani group stocks, forcing adjournment of proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the pre-lunch session.

The Congress, Shiv Sena, the Left, Aam Aadmi Party and other opposition parties tried to raise in both Houses of Parliament the issue of allegations levelled by a US short seller against the Adani group and the subsequent mayhem on company stocks but were disallowed by the chair. Unhappy with the ruling, they raised slogans, forcing the adjournment of proceedings till 2 pm without transacting any official business.

The rout in Adani group stocks has threatened the value of investments made by the

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and public sector banks.

Adani group stocks, where LIC invested heavily, lost over $100 billion in value since a New York short seller came out with a damning report alleging financial and accounting fraud by the ports-to-energy conglomerate.

The Adani group has denied all charges and called the report malicious and full of lies. Outside the House, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sought day-to-day reporting of the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) or the SC-monitored probe into the issue which concerns public money.

“Keeping public interest in mind, we want a thorough probe into the Adani issue either by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or a Supreme Court-monitored panel. There should also be day-to-day reporting of the investigation on the issue,” he told reporters.

Video message to investors

Facing charges of pulling off the ‘largest fraud’ in corporate history, Adani on Thursday issued a video message to investors, explaining the decision behind his flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, withdrawing a fully subscribed follow-on public offer (FPO). “Our decision would have surprised many. But considering the volatility of the market seen yesterday, our board strongly felt that it wouldn’t have been morally correct to proceed with FPO,” said Adani.

RBI seeks details on exposure

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday sought details about lenders’ exposures to the Adani Group, banking sources said.

On Wednesday, Swiss lender Credit Suisse stopped accepting bonds by Adani group as collaterals for margin lending. The RBI gets access to banks’ large corporate borrowers on a regular basis as part of CRILC database.