Moitra, Opposition MPs Storm out of Ethics Panel Meet Complaining of Unethical Questions

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Nov 2: The Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra at the centre of the “cash for query” controversy, on Thursday stormed out of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee meeting along with some opposition party members of the panel complaining of she being asked “unethical personal questions” while the BJP members accused her of using “unparliamentary words” for the committee chairman and members.

The BJP MP and Ethics Committee chairperson Vinod Sonkar claimed TMC MP used “unparliamentary” words for him and the panel before storming out of its meeting, which was called to record her oral evidence in the cash-for-query scandal. He made the remark minutes after Opposition MPs, including Bahujan Samaj Party’s Danish Ali, walked out of the panel’s meeting with Moitra, claiming it asked “unethical questions” from her.

“The committee’s motive was to probe into the allegations of unethical conduct by Mahua Moitra. Instead of cooperating, Mahua Moitra, in a fit of anger, used bad words against the panel and its chairperson. The Opposition MPs, including Danish Ali, Girdhari Yadav etc, unethically and in great anger, levelled some allegations against the committee… They walked out of the panel’s meeting to escape answering more questions on Darshan Hiranandani’s allegations,” Sonkar told reporters.

Sonkar said Ms Moitra did not cooperate during her cross-examination and walked out in order to avoid facing questions. “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 said. “Objectionable words were used against the panel’s functioning and me.” Another BJP panel member, Aparajita Sarangi, said Ms Moitra “behaved in an angry, arrogant manner when asked about Darshan Hiranandani’s affidavit.”

The Opposition MPs alleged the committee asked “personal and unethical questions” to Ms Moitra, and one of the MPs leaked details of the meeting to the media while it was going on.

“What kind of meeting was this? They are asking all kinds of filthy questions,” Ms Moitra, visibly upset, told reporters as she and the Opposition MPs stormed out of the room. “They are picking on anything. Talking any rubbish. ‘You have tears in your eyes’, they said. Do I have tears in my eyes, you see tears?” Ms Moitra said as she put her hands on her cheeks. Another Opposition MP said “it was too much” when a reporter asked why they left the meeting.

Earlier, in her statement to the committee, Ms Moitra said a “sour personal relationship” motivated the filing of the complaint over alleged cash-for-query against her. The flare-up apparently happened during her cross-examination after lunch. Ms Moitra has called Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who filed the complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), her “jilted ex.”

A large part of her deposition before the committee was about her relationship with Mr Dehadrai as she appeared to blame him for leaks and the allegations, sources said. BJP MP VD Sharma told her to respond to the substantive part of the allegations and not make it all about personal relationship going sour.

Though Ms Moitra has refuted the cash-for-query allegations, she admitted to giving her parliamentary login ID to businessman Darshan Hiranandani. The ethics committee summoned her on the basis of reports received from three ministries along with documents and evidences. The BJP had raised national security concerns over the sharing of her official login credentials.

Sources said the committee asked Ms Moitra about the nature of her ties with Mr Hiranandani in order to fully understand the extent of damage caused due to sharing the parliamentary login ID with the businessman.

Many of the questions Ms Moitra asked in parliament pertain to sectors in which Mr Hiranandani’s companies have interests, which is why the committee sought to know whether national security has been compromised, sources said.

After the Supreme Court lawyer who Ms Moitra called her “jilted ex” filed the complaint with the CBI, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had led the call to investigate the allegation that Ms Moitra gave her parliament login ID to Mr Hiranandani to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The ethics committee hearing has been buttressed by the explosive affidavit of Mr Hiranandani, who, while remaining silent on the cash-for-query issue, has admitted to posting questions on Ms Moitra’s parliamentary login. If proved, this would comprise breach of parliamentary privilege and enough to get her expelled from the house. His gifts to Ms Moitra, he wrote in the affidavit, was by way of meeting the demands of the Trinamool MP, who wanted to politically target PM Modi through the Adani Group.

Sources said Ms Moitra told the committee that a “sour personal relationship” motivated the filing of the complaint over alleged cash-for-query against her. A large part of her deposition before the committee was about her relationship with Mr Dehadrai as she appeared to blame him for leaks and the allegations.

Ms Moitra found support from some opposition MPs, including N Uttam Kumar Reddy of the Congress and Danish Ali of the BSP. Opposition MPs in the ethics committee supported her during the proceedings. They pointed out the login ID was used only for posting questions and there was no national security issue in this, sources said. The Opposition MPs demanded to know whether every single MP posts questions on their own without taking any help.

The ethics committee summoned her on the basis of reports received from three ministries along with documents and evidences. The BJP had raised national security concerns over the sharing of her official login credentials.

The parliamentary ethics committee is probing BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey’s bribe-for-query allegations against Ms Moitra. Mr Dubey has accused Ms Moitra of asking questions in parliament on behalf of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for bribes and favours. Among the several allegations against her, one accused her of receiving gifts from Mr Hiranandani in exchange for asking questions in Parliament.

The Trinamool leader recently disclosed that the only gifts she received from Mr Hiranandani were “one scarf, some lipsticks, and other makeup items including eye shadow.” Ms Moitra disclosed that she had received a birthday scarf, Bobbi Brown lipsticks and makeup, and architectural plans and drawings from Mr Hiranandani, her friend. She clarified that Mr Hiranandani purchased the makeup from Dubai’s duty-free store, and the CPWD, a government agency, covered the costs of renovating her home. Ms Moitra has denied allegations she took a bribe to ask questions.

The ethics committee has sought the help of the Union ministries of home and information technology to investigate the matter, and has reportedly received answers to its questions from them. Ms Moitra, facing accusations of conspiracy, serious breach of privilege, and contempt of the House, argued on Wednesday that the ethics committee may not be the most appropriate venue for investigating allegations of criminality, given its lack of authority to do so. In her letter to the ethics committee which she posted on X, Ms Moitra requested permission to cross-examine Mr Hiranandani.

According to sources, some of these “filthy” questions were – ‘how many times did you contact Mr Hiranandani in 2023?’, ‘how many times did you visit Dubai?’, and ‘which hotel did you stay (in Dubai)?’ Opposition MPs claimed Ms Moitra answered some questions – she said she visited Dubai for a family function and that she had visited the city at least three times. Mr Sonkar, however, was reportedly not satisfied and repeated his questions. The MPs also claimed they were not allowed to ask questions.