The Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra declared on Friday that she was honoured to become the “first person to be unethically expelled by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee” in the history of parliament. A day after the House ethics committee recommended her removal over the “cash-for-query” incident, she posted on social media.
“Proud to go down in parliamentary history as 1st person to be unethically expelled by Ethics Comm whose mandate doesn’t include explusion. 1st expel & THEN ask govt to ask CBI to find evidence. Kangaroo court, monkey business from start to finish,” the TMC MP wrote on ‘X’.
“Never Waste a Good Crisis they say… – this just helped me double my 2024 winning margin,” Moitra said in another post. She apparently deleted the post later.
After two weeks of proceedings that included three sittings of depositions from three different people, the ethics committee recommended Moitra’s removal on Thursday.
The panel met in New Delhi and approved its 479-page report, which suggested Moitra’s expulsion. This may have been the panel’s first recommendation against an MP. The group was chaired by Vinod Kumar Sonkar, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha.
The report’s recommendations, approved by a vote of 6-4, also stated that Moitra took “cash and kind, amenities and various other facilities” from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who also supplied the login credentials and password. Furthermore, it was mentioned that of the 61 queries Moitra posed in Parliament, 50 of them requested for information “with the intent of protecting or perpetuating business interests” of Hiranandani.
“Moitra had deliberately shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with Darshan Hiranandani, a business tycoon, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, thereby, facilitating him to operate the same from Dubai for raising parliamentary questions in Lok Sabha. Therefore, Smt Mahua Moitra is guilty of unethical conduct, breach of her privileges available to members of Parliament and contempt of the House,” the panel said.
The four opposition members said that the panel’s proposal was “incorrect” and “prejudiced,” and they suggested that businessman Darshan Hiranandani—who is suspected of bribing Moitra—be asked to appear before the panel.
All he has submitted is an affidavit.
Congress MP Preneet Kaur, who is suspended, supported the ruling regime’s vote to remove Moitra, one of the opposition’s most outspoken members, from office.
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Source: HT
