NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's lower house of parliament suspended proceedings for a second day on Wednesday after disruptions by lawmakers demanding a discussion of the U.S. indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani, while stocks of his group's companies clawed back some losses.
Last week U.S. authorities accused Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading U.S. investors.
The ports-to-power conglomerate denied the charges as "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse".
India's opposition, especially the Congress party, accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, accusations that have been denied.
Parliament proceedings were disrupted for the second day since the winter session began this week, with MPs shouting slogans and demanding discussion of the Adani allegations.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vocal critic of Adani, said Gautam Adani should be arrested.
"The gentleman has been indicted in the United States ... and the government is protecting him," Gandhi told reporters outside parliament.
The government has made no comment on the indictment but the ruling BJP has distanced itself from the controversy.
The BJP had no reason to defend Gautam Adani, a spokesperson said, adding that the party was not against industrialists, but rather considered them partners in nation-building efforts.
"Let him defend himself," the spokesperson, Gopal Krishna Agarwal said on Tuesday, adding that the law would take its own course in case of wrong-doing.
On Wednesday, Adani Green, the company at the center of the indictment, said Gautam Adani had been charged in the United States for alleged violations of securities law and faced potential fines but had not been charged under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green said a complaint by U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sought "an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties (but) it does not quantify the amount of penalty".
The civil action launched by the SEC runs in parallel to U.S. federal prosecutors' indictment against Adani and others.
STOCK REBOUND
Shares of 10 listed Adani Group firms recovered about $9 billion in market value on Wednesday, after having shed up to $34 billion since the indictments, up to Tuesday's close.