TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday arrived at the Parliament’s Ethics Committee office at 10:50 am to face investigation into the cash-for-query scandal, but walked out angrily at 3:35 pm. The panel questioned her regarding allegations of accepting money in exchange for raising questions in Parliament.
Alongside Mahua Moitra, Danish Ali and other Opposition MPs also expressed their anger and left the Ethics Committee office at 3:35 pm. When asked about the reason for her anger, Danish Ali stated, “The Chairman is inquiring about her night-time conversations and topics of discussion. What kind of ethics committee asks such unethical questions?” Despite the Opposition members’ uproar, the Ethics Committee continued its deliberations, disregarding TMC MP Mahua’s discontent.
Ethics Committee Chief Vinod Sonkar responded to the Opposition members’ boycott, mentioning that they had used objectionable language against the panel’s functioning and himself.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey insisted that the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee had the obligation to question Mahua Moitra based on the claims made in Darshan Hiranandani’s affidavit.
Ethics panel member Aparajita Sarangi stated that when questioned about Darshan’s affidavit, TMC MP Mahua displayed anger and arrogance. Earlier reports had indicated that Mahua had proclaimed her innocence before the Ethics Committee, attributing the controversy to strained personal relations with lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai. In Mahua’s case, the Home, IT, and External Affairs Ministries had submitted reports to the Ethics Committee, which formed the basis of Mahua’s questioning.
According to reports, the IT Ministry informed the committee that Mahua’s ID had been logged in at least 47 times from Dubai. This inquiry was initiated after the meeting held on October 26, which prompted the committee to request information from the three ministries.
Before departing for Delhi, Mahua said, “I will debunk all the lies on November 2. If I had taken even a single rupee, the BJP would have promptly imprisoned me. The BJP aims to suspend me from Parliament. The truth is, they can’t even manage my hairstyling. The Ethics Committee lacks criminal jurisdiction.”
Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who had lodged a complaint against Mahua in the cash-for-query case, remarked that since the matter was still before the court, he could not provide further comments. However, he vowed to reveal the truth later, cautioning that one cannot hide the truth by playing the victim.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra demanded the cross-examination of businessman Darshan Hiranandani and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Ananth Dehadrai in a letter to the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on October 31. She asserted that Hiranandani and Dehadrai had failed to provide evidence for the allegations against her, thus exercising her right to cross-examine both of them.