The Opposition on Wednesday protested in the Well of the Lok Sabha against the clearance granted to a renewable energy project of the Adani group near the India-Pakistan border in Gujarat in alleged violation of norms and accused the government of compromising national security.

Congress MP Manish Tewari used Question Hour to flag the issue, which the party had till now been raising outside Parliament. Tewari did not name the promoter of the project, but Congress leaders named the Adani group outside the House.

Tewari said the upcoming renewable energy project at Khavda would stretch up to 1km of the India-Pakistan border and noted that the security protocol prohibited any big infrastructure project within 10km of the international border.

He asked the minister concerned to tell the House if security protocols were relaxed to clear the project. New and renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi sidestepped the question, sparking a protest by the Opposition.

“Mr Speaker, it is very important that strategic security and energy security go hand in hand. A very big renewable energy facility is being set up in Khavda. This facility will go up to 1km of the India-Pakistan border. The national security protocols say that no big infrastructure project can be set up within 10km of the border,” Tewari said during Question Hour.

“I want to ask the honourable minister whether the national security protocols have been relaxed to set up this project in Khavda? Secondly, how much concession has been given by the government for this renewable energy project?” the Congress MP asked Joshi.

Caught off guard, Joshi first said the question was unrelated to the main query but informed the House that a project had been approved only after securing all the necessary permissions.

“Sir, we want renewable energy to be generated in the country. The honourable member has asked a question about Khavda. Though this question is not related to the subject, I would like to tell them that whenever we approve a project, whatever other permissions, clearances, licences are to be taken at the state, central and local levels, we do it only after taking them from all the departments,” the minister said.

The Opposition termed Joshi’s reply insufficient and rose in protest, demanding a detailed clarification. The Opposition members, mainly from the Congress and the DMK, rushed to the Well of the House and raised slogans, accusing the Narendra Modi government of playing with the country’s security by approving the project near the Pakistan border. After raising slogans for some time, the Opposition members stageda walkout.

“We have learnt from the media that a renewable energy project of Adani Power is being set up in Khavda. So the question is... is Adani above national security? Were the concerns raised by the army ignored for Adani’s profits?” deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, told the reporters outside.

“We strongly condemn the Modi government in this matter and demand a proper response from the government,” he added.

The British daily, The Guardian, had in February reported that security protocols were eased by the Centre for the Adani group to build the world’s largest renewable energy plant in Khavda, which is at the centre of bribery charges for which Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar were indicted in the US last year.

The Adani group has denied allegations of bribery and insisted that the Khavda project is compliant with all laws.