Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 9: Finalising its report with an undue haste, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on Thursday recommended expulsion from the House the Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra in the alleged “cash for query” case even while leaving it to the Central government to investigate the money trail in the case.
The committee adopted the report recommending her expulsion by 6-4 votes with the Congress MP Praneet Kaur voted in favour with the five BJP members while four other opposition party members submitted dissent notes saying that Darshan Hiranandani should have been summoned by the panel for cross questioning. Several of them also wondered why the committee was recommending expulsion when no money trail had been investigated and established in the case,
The BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had lodged the complaint against Ms Moitra claiming that she had taken money from a businessman Darshan Hiranandani to put up questions in the Lok Sabha against the Adanis and to cause embarrassment to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ms Moitra as per the report has been indicted for “unethical conduct” and “contempt of the House” for sharing her Lok Sabha log-in credentials with unauthorised personnel. The panel called this a “serious misdemeanour” and recommended “severe punishment.” “In view of highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct” the Committee has recommended “intense, legal, institutional inquiry by Government of India (GOI) in a time bound manner.” The panel has left it for the central government to investigate and establish the money trail.
The panel has also admonished its own member and BSP MP Danish Ali for “twisting/moulding the intent of question put forth by Chairperson.” CPI (M) MP PR Natarajan in his dissent note according to the sources expressed shock at the “unseemly haste and complete lack of propriety and legal requirements in which this so-called enquiry has been conducted.”
Reacting for the first time since the issue surfaced with Mr Dubey’s letter to the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla last month, the TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the Krishnanagar MP was a “victim of politics” and added that the firebrand leader was “competent enough to fight her own battles.” Accusing the BJP of targeting Trinamool leaders, Mr Banerjee said, “I feel this step by the central government and what I read of the ethics committee report, they have said an investigation should happen against her. If you do not have anything against Mahua (Moitra) and it is the subject of investigation, why has an expulsion been recommended? I feel Mahua is competent enough to fight her battles on her own. They are victimising me for four years too, it is their standard practice,” he said.
The draft report had suggested cancelling her membership and calling her actions “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal”, the committee said it calls for severe punishment. In the operative part of the 500-page report the committee has also recommended that a “legal, intensive, institutional and time-bound investigation” be held into the entire matter.
The Committee has concluded that Mahua Moitra had shared user ID with “unauthorised persons”, took cash and amenities from businessman Darshan Hiranandani and it was “serious misdemeanour” on her part which calls for “serious punishment.” “The money trail of cash transaction between Smt Mahua Moitra and Shri Darshan Hiranandani as a part of a ‘quid pro quo’ should be investigated by the government of India in a legal, institutional and time-bound manner,” the report read.
The report will be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker during the winter session of parliament and action would be taken after a discussion. Ms Moitra had stormed out of the last meeting, held last week, objecting to their questions and in a letter to the Speaker, accused the committee of subjecting her to “proverbial vastraharan (stripping)”.
The Ethics panel chief — BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar — had focussed on Ms Moitra’s personal relationship with Darshan Hiranandani. There were questions too on Jai Anant Dehadrai, on whose complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation the entire case rests. The Committee has accused Ms Moitra of failing to cooperate. “Mahua Moitra did not cooperate with the committee and the investigation. The Opposition members also made allegations in anger and suddenly walked out of the meeting to avoid answering more questions,” Mr Sonkar had said.
The BJP MP Nishikant Dubey – who had flagged the matter to the Lok Sabha Speaker — posted on X that anti-corruption body Lokpal has ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the corruption allegations against Ms Moitra. “On basis of my complaint, Lokpal has ordered a CBI probe into the Mahua Moitra’s corruption that compromises national security.” He had claimed that Ms Moitra, by sharing her parliamentary login with the businessman, has compromised national security. Ms Moitra had admitted to it, but claimed there was no regulation governing sharing of login and password. Ahead of her hearing with the Ethics Committee, she had written them a letter, questioning “Why these rules are not shared with MPs.”
In an explosive affidavit last month, Darshan Hiranandani admitted to the login sharing, but bypassed the cash for query issue, saying they shared a close friendship and he had given Ms Moitra gifts that she had demanded.
The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has repeatedly accused the ruling BJP of misusing central agencies and other institutions to target political rivals, has been conspicuously silent in its remarks in this matter and has largely left Ms Moitra to fight her case as several issues from her personal life have dominated the discussions.
Mamata Banerjee, who has addressed the media several times over the past month, has not spoken at all about the allegations against Ms Moitra. Earlier, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told the media that the party “has nothing to say on this issue”. “We think the person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this,” he said.
Derek O’Brien, Trinamool’s leader in Rajya Sabha, said last month that the Trinamool Congress leadership will take an appropriate decision in the matter after the Parliamentary panel probing the matter completes its investigation. “The member concerned has been advised by the party leadership to clarify her position regarding the allegations levelled against her. She has already done that. However, since the matter has to do with an elected MP, her rights and privileges, let the matter be investigated by the right forum of Parliament, after which the party leadership will take an appropriate decision,” he had said.
The JD(U) member in the Ethics Committee Giridhari Yadav said there was no discussion on the report among the members. “This is a gross violation of the rules. You have only cross-questioned. After that, you should have held a meeting with the member of the panel to discuss. They have the majority and so they can do anything,” Yadav said ahead of the meeting. “Mahabharat (war) took place because of Draupadi’s cheer-haran,” the MP said referring to Ms Moitra’s charge of the panel indulging in her virtual vastraharan” when she appeared before the panel.
As BSP MP Danish Ali said he won’t tolerate the insult of a woman. “Everyone has seen how BJP stands with those who insult women, be it Unnao or Hathras or the Bilkis Bano case. But we can’t tolerate a woman’s insult,” the BSP MP said.
Danish Ali said he had not read the report. “There can’t be two laws in this country. Rule 275 is being violated continuously by the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee who is giving interviews to television channels. We can say one thing that we have raised our voice against injustice and we will continue to do that,” the BSP MP said.
Mr Sonkar on Thursday had said the allegations against Ms Moitra were “very serious.” The committee has investigated the allegations and drafted the report, the chairperson said adding that Thursday’s meeting was to discuss the report and then to adopt it.
