The Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee summoned BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and counsel Jai Anant Dehadrai on Wednesday for “oral evidence” in connection with the ‘pay for query’ charges levelled against TMC MP Mahua Moitra.
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Dubey used “irrefutable evidence” obtained from counsel Dehadrai to attack Moitra in his complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The issue stated by the Ethics Committee
The Lok Sabha ethics committee has summoned BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and counsel Jai Anand Dehadrai in connection with their cash for query charges against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on October 26.
Mr. Dubey’s allegation against Ms Moitra was referred to the ethics committee the day before.
Nishikant Dubey claims Mahua Moitra took bribes to ask questions in parliament on behalf of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in order to harm the Adani group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dubey stated that 50 of the 61 questions she posed in Lok Sabha till recently were about the Adani Group, a commercial giant that the TMC MP has frequently accused of wrongdoing.
He claimed she was targeting the Adani Group at the request of a competitor businessman.
Moitra has responded, saying that she welcomes any move against her after the Lok Sabha Speaker has completed dealing with the pending charges against Nishikant Dubey.
Mahua Moitra has also filed a petition with the Delhi High Court, requesting that Dubey, Dehadrai, and other social media platforms and media outlets refrain from uploading, spreading, or publishing any allegedly false and defamatory content about her.
Further allegations and inquiries
The letter sent by a secretariat official stated that they are directed to state that the Committee on Ethics has decided to hear Nishikant Dubey in the above matter, in person, on Thursday, 26 October 2023. Nishikant Dubey had accused Moitra of taking bribes from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Mr. Om Birla to constitute an inquiry committee to look into the charges against her. To the above allegations, Mahua Moitra responded saying that she welcomes any move against her after the Lok Sabha Speaker is finished dealing with pending charges against Mr. Dubey.
Dubey also wrote to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar, alleging Mahua Moitra of accepting bribes from a renowned businessman in exchange for answering questions and demanded that an inquiry committee be formed to investigate her. “Your esteemed self may be aware of the allegations against Mahua Moitra, which were presented to the CBI by an advocate of the Supreme Court of India with my assistance and to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.”
According to Dubey’s letter to the two ministers, “a criminal breach of trust was committed by her, parliamentary ethics were violated, and actions were taken in a manner detrimental to India’s national security.”
Mahua Moitra’s response
In her response to this letter, the request was made by TMC MP Mahua Moitra for the IT minister to release all login details of all MPs. A message was posted on X by her, stating that all parliamentary work of MPs is carried out by PAs, assistants, interns, and large teams. She also requested Mr. Ashwini Vaishnav, a member of the Indian Parliament to release the details of all the MPs and the information given to the staff while their training.
Moitra has also petitioned the Delhi High Court to prevent Dubey, Dehadrai, and other social networking platforms and media outlets from uploading, spreading, or publishing allegedly false and defamatory content against her.
In his letter to the speaker, Dubey stated that 50 of the 61 questions she has asked in Lok Sabha up until recently were about the Adani Group, a commercial group that the TMC MP has frequently accused of wrongdoing.
He claimed she was targeting the Adani Group at the request of a competitor businessman.
