Moitra equated the action with hanging by a "kangaroo court" and alleged that a parliamentary panel was being weaponised by the Central government.
Published Dec 11, 2023 | 5:09 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 11, 2023 | 5:10 PM
Mahua Moitra speaking to media after her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. (Screengrab)
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra moved the Supreme Court on Monday, 11 December, challenging her expulsion from the Lok Sabha, after the House adopted the report of its ethics committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest.
On 8 December, after a heated debate in the Lok Sabha over the panel report during which Moitra was not allowed to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the TMC leader from the House for “unethical conduct”, which was adopted by a voice vote.
Reacting sharply to her expulsion, Moitra had equated the action with hanging by a “kangaroo court” and alleged that a parliamentary panel was being weaponised by the government to force the opposition into submission.
The ethics committee report found Moitra guilty of “unethical conduct” and contempt of the House as she shared her Lok Sabha members’ portal credentials — user ID and password — with unauthorised people, which had an irrepressible impact on national security, Joshi said.
The committee had also recommended that in view of the “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct” of Moitra, an intense, legal and institutional inquiry be initiated by the government in a time-bound manner.
The motion moved by Joshi said Moitra’s “conduct has further been found to be unbecoming as an MP for accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest, which is a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable conduct” on her part.
Earlier, ethics committee Chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar tabled the first report of the panel on a complaint filed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against Moitra.
In October, Dubey, based on a complaint submitted by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, alleged that Moitra had asked questions in the Lok Sabha in exchange for cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to mount an attack on industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In an affidavit to the ethics committee on 19 October, Hiranandani claimed that Moitra provided him with her login ID and password for the Lok Sabha members’ website.
The CBI has already filed a preliminary FIR in the case.
The saga began with BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleging that Moitra had shared the login details of her Parliament account with businessman Darshan Hiranandani and accepted inducements in cash and kind for asking questions in the House targeting businessman Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dubey filed the formal complaint while an advocate, Jai Anant Dehadrai, allegedly provided evidence against Moitra. He also deposed before the committee.
Moitra was deposed before the ethics panel on 2 November. However, she walked out mid-way, claiming that the panel chairman had asked her personal, unethical, and demeaning questions.
She also complained to Om Birla saying she was subjected to a “Vastraharan” (disrobing).
“How shameful is it that I, as one of only 78 female members of Lok Sabha, are subjected to ‘Vastraharan’ in the name of ‘Ethics Committee’ hearing by the Chairperson of the Committee?” Mahua Moitra said in her letter.
Four MPs on the panel belonging to Opposition parties also walked out along with her, questioning both the behaviour of the chairman and the motives of the committee.
(With PTI inputs)
