Cash-for-query row: Mahua Moitra's 'expulsion report' listed but not discussed or presented in Lok Sabha session
Cash-for-query row: On the first day of Lok Sabha proceedings, the highly anticipated report recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a cash-for-query case was conspicuously absent from discussions or tabling. Despite being listed at number 5 under 'Papers to be laid' in the business list, it didn't find a mention during the session.
The chair, held by BJP's Kiritbhai Solanki, resumed proceedings after an hour-long adjournment for obituary references but omitted the crucial item number 5 from the list. This sparked inquiries from TMC's Sudeep Bandopadhyay, RSP’s NK Premchandran, and Congress’ K Suresh about the status of the skipped item.
The report emerged from an ethics panel investigation initiated after a complaint from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who accused Moitra of accepting bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for raising questions in Parliament. Moitra vehemently refuted these allegations, branding them as "bogus" and driven by political motives.
Expressing concern over the premature leak of the report, the TMC stressed the confidentiality of parliamentary committee reports until they are officially presented. However, the details of the Ethics Committee's findings were already in the media domain. Demanding a discussion on the matter in Lok Sabha before any decisions are made, the Trinamool Congress has sought a platform to address the accusations against Moitra. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla regarding Moitra's recommended expulsion.
Moitra refrained from commenting until the report was officially tabled, stating that she and her party would respond accordingly once it was formally presented.
The report, adopted by the ethics panel on November 9, recommends Moitra's expulsion for allegedly sharing her parliamentary login with an industrialist friend who used it to pose questions on behalf of a business rival. Hiranandani, in an affidavit to the ethics panel, accused Moitra of seeking expensive gifts and displaying ambition.
Chowdhury emphasised the gravity of the recommended expulsion, calling for a review of parliamentary committee rules, citing vague exercise of penal powers by these committees. Amidst these developments, Moitra dismissed the Ethics Panel's report as a "fixed match" and wore the recommendation of expulsion as a "badge of honour." The winter session of Parliament, during which this contentious issue is expected to unravel further, is scheduled from December 4 to December 22.
The allegations against Moitra revolve around claims made by BJP's Nishikant Dubey, alleging her involvement in seeking bribes for targeting the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in her parliamentary queries at the behest of Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. Moitra countered these accusations, calling them baseless and stemming from a personal vendetta held by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai against her.
- With inputs from agencies
