Mahua Moitra Questions Ethics Committee’s Jurisdiction to Probe Allegations of Criminality

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Nov 1: The Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, who is due to appear before the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha in the “cash for query” case, has questioned the committee’s powers to examine allegations of criminality.

Ms Moitra on Wednesday claimed that the ethics committee that is looking into the cash-for-query controversy does not have powers to examine allegations of criminality. She released her response that she had prepped to give to the committee when she appear before it on Thursday. This, Ms Moitra said, was because the “ethics committee deemed it fit to release my summons to the media…” “… I think it is important that I too release my letter to the committee before the ‘hearing’ tomorrow,” Ms Moitra said in a post on X.

Ms Moitra will be questioned on Thursday. Along with other documents and evidences before the committee, she would also be questioned on the basis of reports received by the committee from three Union ministries, sources have said. The reports from Home, Information Technology and External Affairs ministries are with the committee. The panel had sought information from the three ministries after a meeting held on October 26. Among other things, it had asked whether IP addresses of her log-ins and her locations were the same.

This has been asked because of the explosive affidavit of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who while remaining silent on the cash-for-query issue, has admitted to posting questions on Mahua Moitra’s parliamentary login ID and password to post questions from Dubai – a situation, if proved, will mean a Breach of Parliamentary Privilege and enough to get her expelled from the House.

In a letter to the committee chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar, Ms Moitra claimed the absence of this power was deliberately kept that way by “our nation’s founders” to prevent misuse of committees by government that enjoy brute majority in parliament.

She also repeated her demand to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani who has alleged that Ms Moitra took questions from him to ask in parliament. Ms Moitra said the parliamentary ethics committee may not be the “appropriate forum to examine allegations of alleged criminality.” “I wish to respectfully remind you that parliamentary committees do not have criminal jurisdiction and have no mandate to investigate alleged criminality. This can only be done by law enforcement agencies. This check was specifically created by our nation’s founders to prevent the slightest misuse of committees by governments enjoying a brute majority in parliament,” Ms Moitra said. “Since Ethics Committee deemed it fit to release my summons to the media I think it is important I too release my letter to the Committee before my “hearing” tomorrow,” she said.

Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, on whose complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the entire case rests, was cross-examined by the ethics committee on October 26, while BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who led the call to investigate the allegation that Ms Moitra gave her parliament login ID to the businessman, was allowed to explain his allegations.

Ms Moitra, one of the fiercest critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, will appear before the ethics committee on Thursday though she had sought a date after November 5 when she had claimed would be free from her prior engagements in her constituency Krishnanagar in West Bengal. She asked the committee to ensure there was “no room for political partisanship” in their functioning. She alleged the committee has not made any code of conduct for MPs to follow.

“It is important to note that till date the committee on ethics has not formulated any code of conduct for members and in fact the committee has not even had any sittings in the past two years. I wish to most respectfully point out that in view of the lack of a structured code of conduct, it is all the more important that each case be dealt with in an objective and fair manner…” the Trinamool Congress MP said in the letter to the ethics committee chairperson. The ethics committee will give a report to the Lok Sabha Speaker “as early as possible.”

The BJP’s Nishikant Dubey, whose allegations the Ethics Committee is examining, had accused Ms Moitra of “serious Breach of Privilege”, “Contempt of the House” and conspiracy — a ‘Criminal Offence’ under Section 120A of IPC”.

Quoting media reports on Wednesday, Mr Dubey posted on X that “questions were asked 47 times in the Lok Sabha from Hiranandani’s mail id and MP portal in Dubai.” “If this news is correct then all MPs of the country should stand against Mahua ji’s corruption. Hiranandani asked questions in the Lok Sabha on his own behalf. Have we become MPs to serve the selfish interests of the capitalists?” his tweet read.