In a complex unfolding drama, Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of Hiranandani Group, has emerged as an ‘‘approver’’, shedding light on alleged political machinations spearheaded by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra. In a signed affidavit, Hiranandani accuses Moitra of orchestrating a scheme to tarnish Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image indirectly by targeting business magnate Gautam Adani.
The story traces back to Hiranandani’s interaction with Moitra at the Bengal Global Business Summit in 2017, which eventually blossomed into a close personal friendship. The CEO alleges that Moitra leveraged this relationship to gather information for drafting pointed parliamentary questions aimed at embarrassing the government by targeting the Adani Group.
Hiranandani also admits to using Moitra’s parliamentary login to post questions after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) favoured Adani’s Dhamra LNG facility over his firm’s proposed facility. The drama intensified earlier this week when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai accused Moitra of accepting favours from Hiranandani to raise questions in Parliament. In his statement, Hiranandani added that he had access to Moitra’s Parliamentary login and password, given to him voluntarily.
He further claimed that Moitra had interactions with Rahul Gandhi, BBC, and Financial Times with a strategy to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elevate her national profile. Moitra allegedly approached Hiranandani multiple times, asking for personal favours like luxury items, holidays, and covering travel expenses. In response to these allegations, Moitra filed a defamation suit in Delhi High Court against them.
Simultaneously, her plea sought to restrain the duo along with several media outlets from circulating alleged defamatory content against her. Moitra has also demanded a retraction, an apology, and provisional damages valued at Rs 2 crore from the accusers. Furthermore, Dubey’s complaint has now been directed to Parliament’s Ethics Committee by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The intrigue thickens as Moitra’s plea reveals a bitter end to her close friendship with Dehadrai, who allegedly trespassed into her residence and misappropriated personal belongings, including her pet dog. The allegation of Hiranandani turning approver against Moitra in this ‘cash for query’ case, combined with the ongoing defamation proceedings, has stirred the political cauldron, promising more unfolding drama.
