As the report of the Ethics Committee in the alleged “cash-for-query” case was tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said that “now the people will see the battle of Mahabharata”.
Speaking to the media, Mahua said, “Mother Durga has arrived, we will see. These people who have started ‘vastraharan’ (snatching clothes), will now see the battle of Mahabharata.”
She also quoted a verse from famous poet and former Rajya Sabha Member, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar which said “Destruction befalls a person, conscience dies first (Jab Naash Manuj par chaata hai, pehle vivek mar jaata hai).”
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Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also commented on the tabling of the ethics panel report and termed it a “misadventure” on the part of the government.
Speaking to the media outside the Parliament, Karti Chidambaram said, “It’s a misadventure on the part of the government. If they indulge in this misadventure, all I can say is that they are going to add 50,000 extra votes to Mahua in 2024.”
“Chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar and Aparajita Sarangi to lay on the Table the First Report (Hindi and English versions) of the Committee on Ethics,” the agenda released by Lok Sabha read, ANI reported.
The report was mentioned in the agenda of the list of business of Lok Sabha for the opening day of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. However, it could not be taken up.
What is the cash-for-query row?
In October this year, a political storm erupted after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra of “asking questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts” from a businessman. Dubey demanded immediate suspension of Moitra from the House and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an “inquiry committee” to look into the charges against her.
In his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Dubey said it was based on a Supreme Court lawyer’s letter that he received, in which “irrefutable evidence of bribes” exchanged between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of the real-estate conglomerate Hiranandani Group, was mentioned.
The Lok Sabha Speaker sent Dubey’s complaint regarding allegations linked to ‘bribe for questions’ charge against Moitra to the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha, which is chaired by BJP member Vinod Kumar Sonkar.
Also Read: Mahua Moitra appears before Lok Sabha ethics panel in cash-for-query row
The Ethics Committee, which investigated the allegations made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, adopted its 500-page report on November 9 recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha in view of her “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct.
The draft report was adopted by a 6:4 majority in the panel last month. As per the sources, the draft report on Mahua Moitra’s cash-for-questions case reveals that she visited the UAE four times from 2019 to 2023 while her login was accessed several times.
“On 47 occasions, her member portal login credentials were accessed from Dubai,” sources said citing the draft report of the ethics committee, ANI reported.
The TMC has demanded that the MP Mahua Moitra be given a chance to put forth her defence. TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, “I spoke with the Speaker, and he said that this committee report along with other reports will be tabled. I said that TMC MP Mahua Moitra should be given a chance to speak…”
Speaking to ANI, Congress Lok Sabha Chief Whip K Suresh said, “Today, the Ethics Committee report is being tabled. It is already included in the List of Business in Lok Sabha. Let us see what report are they going to table in the House. If the report states the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua Moitra, we will oppose it tooth and nail.”
(With inputs from ANI)